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NOTICE  TO  READER. 

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place  a  1-cent  stamp  on  this  notice,  mail 
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proceed  overseas. 

No   Wrapping — No  Address. 

A.  S.  Burleson,  Postmaster  General. 


LEARN  TELEGRAPHY 

The  railroads  report  a  serious  shortage  of  telegraphers.  We  are 
placing  young  women  as  well  as  young  men  in  attractive  positions 
as  fast  as  they  qualify. 

L.  D.  S.  BUSINESS  COLLEGE 


SALT  LAKE  CITY 


Day  and  Evening 


All  the  Year 


SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS  OR 
FAILURE    AND    DISCONTENT 


What  of  Your  Boy's  Future 


There  are  numberless  in- 
stances where,  for  the  lack  of  a 
little   intelligent   steering   in   the 

right  direction,  a  young  boy  has  chosen  an  occupation  for  which  he  is  unsuited. 

Discontent  prevented  his  advancement;  his  heart  and  soul  were  not  in  his  work. 

What  followed?     Failure.     There  is  no  need  for  any  boy  in  this  day  to  make  such 

a  sad  mistake.     A  remarkable  book  has  been  written  for  the  express  purpose  of 

helping  him  choose  a  life  work  in  which  he  will  be  successful. 


"The  Man  of  Tomorrow' 


<fj  By  CLAUDE  RICHARDS,  is  an  authen- 
tic and  complete  treatise  on  "Vocation- 
al Guidance."  The  young  boy  who  is  un- 
certain which  path  to  follow  will  do  well  to  put  his  mind  at  ease  by  reading  this 
book  without  further  delay.  It  tells  in  pleasing  language  and  in  a  most  interest- 
ing manner  why  certain  phases  of  his  disposition  adapt  him  to  mercantile  pursuits; 
why  he  can  become  efficient  in  the  line  of  Art;  why  Salesmanship  should  be  his 
goal;  why  he  will  be  a  wonderful  success  in  Agricultural  pursuits.  Then  after  it 
has  shown  which  line  is  his  by  right  of  adaptability,  it  unfolds  a  myriad  of  excel- 
lent suggestions  for  the  highest  development  of  the  chosen  vocation. 

This  book  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  every  home.  Get  it  NOW,  lest  your  boy's 
uncertainty  hang  in  the  balance  one  day  too  long.  The  book  is  substantially 
bound  in  red  vellum;  it  is  printed  on  good  paper,  is  profusely  illustrated  and  has 
296  pages.     It  costs  you  only  $1.00 — postpaid  $1.10. 

This  book  should  be  in  every  home.    Mail  your  order  today  to  the 


Improvement  Era  Office 


20-23  Bishop's  Building, 


Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


WHEN   WRITING   TO  ADVERTISERS.  PLEASE    MENTION   THE   IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


b.""1 1 "II Illlllllllllllll 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ililllllimilllllll I I ill in  inn  1111:1111 llllllll minimi 1 


°om6 


Sons  of 
freedom 


Think  on  the  great  who  once  their  cohorts  led, 
The  mighty  conquerors  in  lust  of  fame, 
To  build  whose  thrones  the  countless  millions  bled, 
And  gave  their  lives  to  gild  a  mortal's  name ! 
Think  on  the  prides  that  would  no  warning  take — 
Dark  through  the  ages  still  the  legend  runs — 
Yet  time  effaced  as  yonder  spaces  make 
The  cradles  and  the  sepulchres  of  suns. 

A  few  from  Sparta  barred  the  Persian's  way, 
The  men  of  Athens  stood  at  Marathon; 
A  hope  yet  lives  as  at  Thermopylae, 
The  world  for  Liberty  shall  yet  be  won: 

Then  strike,  0  Sons  of  Freedom,  strike  the  blow, 
Hurl  back  the  Hun  and  dash  the  tyrant  low! 

Alfred  Lambourne. 


"in  urn  ilium  immiii  in  mn  mn  in  mi:  i mini  mm i mm mm  llllllll 11  in  mini 1 1 1 1 1 1  u  i )  1 1 )  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II  III  II I II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  ■  I  ■  I  ■■  III 


©  Underwood  &  Undcrtvood,  New  York 

PRESIDENT  WILSON  ON  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 

Alone,  except  for  the  ever-present  guard  of  secret  service  men,  Presi- 
dent Woodrow  Wilson  walked  up  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City,  responding 
to  the  enthusiastic  greetings  from  the  crowds  as  they  caught  a  glimpse  of 
him,  while  in  New  York  to  review  the  great  Red  Cross  parade  and  to  speak 
at  the  rally  which  formally  opened  the  Red  Cross  drive  in  May. 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Vol.  XXI  JULY,   1918  No.  9 


A  Plucky  Pioneer  Mother* 


By  President  Joseph  F.  Smith 


This  effort  is  among  my  first  experiences  in  this  class  of 
Mutual  Improvement  work.  I  think  I  have  never  before  had 
the  pleasure  of  being  present  at  any  scout  exhibition.  Most  as- 
suredly I  have  been  very  much  interested  in  what  I  have  heard 
and  witnessed  here  tonight. 

Perhaps  at  one  time — not  very  many  years  ago,  I  played 
the  role  of  a  boy  scout.  It  would  doubtless  have  been  surpris- 
ing to  some  of  you  little  fellows  if,  when  between  nine  and  ten 
years  of  age,  you  had  been  called  upon  to  drive  two  yoke  of 
oxen,  hitched  to  a  heavily  loaded  wagon,  on  the  west  banks  of 
the  Missouri  river;  and  then  been  required  to  take  charge  of 
an  ox  team,  and  drive  it  more  than  a  thousand  miles  across  the 
plains!  You  would  scarcely  think  it  possible  for  any  one  of 
you  to  attempt  a  task  of  that  kind.  But,  in  1848,  when  I  was 
about  ten  years  old,  I  undertook  such  an  obligation  from  sheer 
necessity. 

The  head  of  our  household  was  a  widow,  mother  of  a 
large  family,  most  of  whom  were  the  children  of  a  former  wife, 
deceased. 

We  had  been  driven  away  from  our  homes  in  Nauvoo,  111., 
and  forced  into  the  wilderness.  On  the  banks  of  the  Missouri 
River,  we  passed  two  winters.  Then,  in  the  spring  of  1848,  we 
took  up  our  march  to  follow  the  Pioneers  of  1847  across  the 
plains.  When  we  started  out  from  the  Missouri  River,  we  had 
only  about  one-half  enough  teams  to  haul  our  wagons. 

We  were  about  to  start  out  into  the  wilderness !  We  scarcely 
knew  where  we  were  going,  nor  how  long  it  would  take  us  to 

*These  entertaining  incidents  were  related,  some  time  ago,  to  a  body 
of  M.  I.  A.  Scouts,  at  the  Deseret  Gymnasium. 


756  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

get  there.  Of  course,  we  must  take  with  us  everything  we  had 
in  the  shape  of  food,  agricultural  implements,  and  all  other 
things  we  thought  necessary  for  our  use  on  the  plains,  and  when 
we  should  reach  our  destination.  The  consequence  was,  our 
wagons  were  all  heavily  loaded. 

I  am  not  going  to  enter  upon  a  detailed  description  of  our 
journey  across  the  plains,  but  I  wish  to  relate  just  one  or  two 
incidents:  After  leaving  Winter  Quarters,  we  coupled  two  of 
our  wagons  together,  and  hitched  one  team  on  the  two  wagons. 
Then  we  started  out  to  cross  the  plains  in  that  way.  By  un- 
coupling the  wagons  at  the  bottom  of  each  hill,  and  pulling  one 
wagon  at  a  time  up  the  hill,  then  coupling  them  together  again 
and  driving  on  to  the  next  hill,  and  so  on,  we  reached  the  Elk 
Horn  River.  This  was  the  place  where  the  Camp  of  Israel  had 
assembled  to  fit  out  for  the  journey. 

The  widow,  my  mother,  went  to  the  supervisor,  the  man  in 
charge  of  the  public  cattle  of  the  company,  and  tried  to  obtain 
assistance  to  go  on  with  the  company.  But  after  diagnosing 
our  case,  considering  the  number  of  wagons  we  had,  and  the 
helplessness  of  the  whole  company,  he  very  sternly  informed 
the  widow  that  there  was  no  use  for  her  to  attempt  to  cross  the 
plains  that  year,  and  advised  her  to  go  back  to  the  river,  to 
Winter  Quarters,  and  wait  another  year,  when  perhaps  she 
could  be  helped  out. 

I  am  happy  to  say,  the  widow  had  a  little  mettle  in  her, 
and  she  straightened  up  and  informed  the  gentleman  that  she 
would  beat  him  to  the  Valley,  and  would  ask  no  help  from  him, 
either,  and  turned  away. 

Returning  to  camp,  we  unloaded  the  wagon,  took  the  best 
two  yoke  of  oxen  we  had,  and  the  widow  and  her  brother  started 
back  to  the  Missouri  River.  Here  they  succeeded  in  borrowing 
and  hiring  enough  cattle  to  suffice  for  the  journey.  Then  they 
returned  to  the  Elk  Horn. 

Strange  to  say,  the  widow  and  her  family  were  assigned  to 
the  company  of  fifty  over  which  the  good  captain  to  whom  she 
had  applied  for  help  presided,  and  we  journeyed  in  that  way, 
having  a  good  many  troubles  and  difficulties  on  the  road  that  I 
need  not  mention. 

But  we  finally  struck  the  east  side  of  East  Mountain,  on 
the  old  Pioneer  Trail,  over  which  some  of  you  boys  have  had 
some  experience. 

Our  worn-out  cattle  wearily  dragged  our  heavy  wagons 
up  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain,  and  when  we  reached  the 
summit  we  obtained  a  glimpse  over  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
of  the  Valley  and  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  It  was  a  most  delightful 
sight  to  some  of  us! 


A  PLUCKY  PIONEER  MOTHER  757 

At  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  the  captain  ordered  the 
lead  teams  to  be  turned  out,  loosened  from  the  wagon  and  driven 
down  the  mountains. 

The  hind  wheels  of  the  wagons  were  all  rough-locked  with 
chains,  and  we  dragged  the  wagons  down  the  mountain  with 
one  yoke  of  oxen.  Thus  we  traveled  on  down  to  the  foot  of 
Little  Mountain,  making  our  camp  there  for  the  night. 

Early  next  morning,  the  Captain  gave  notice  to  the  com- 
pany to  arise,  hitch  up  and  roll  over  the  mountain  into  the 
valley. 

To  our  consternation,  when  we  gathered  up  our  cattle,  the 
essential  part  of  our  means  of  transportation  for  some  reason 
had  strayed  away,  and  were  not  to  be  found  with  the  herd. 

A  brother  of  mine,  who  was  also  a  boy  scout  at  that  time, 
then  obtained  a  horse  and  rode  back  over  the  road  in  search 
of  the  lost  cattle.  The  captain  ordered  the  march  to  begin, 
and,  regardless  of  our  predicament,  the  company  started  out, 
up  the  mountain.  The  morning  sun  was  then  shining  as  brightly 
as  these  electric  lights  here,  without  a  cloud  appearing  any- 
where ! 

I  had  happened  to  hear  the  promise  of  my  dear  mother 
that  we  would  beat  the  captain  into  the  Valley,  and  wouldn't 
ask  any  help  from  him,  either.  I  sat  in  the  front  of  the  wagon 
with  the  teams  we  had  in  hand  hitched  to  the  wheels,  while 
my  brother  was  absent  hunting  the  others.  I  saw  the  company 
wending  its  slow  way  up  the  hill,  the  animals  struggling  to  pull 
their  heavy  loads.  The  forward  teams  now  had  almost  reached 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "True  enough,  we 
have  come  thus  far,  and  we  have  been  blessed,  and  not  the 
slightest  help  from  anyone  has  been  asked  by  us."  But  the  last 
promise  seemed  to  be  now  impossible;  the  last  hope  of  getting 
into  the  valley  before  the  rest  of  our  company  was  vanishing, 
in  my  opinion  ! 

You  have  doubtless  heard  descriptions  of  the  terrific  thun- 
der storms  that  sometimes  visit  the  mountains.  The  pure,  crys- 
tal streams  a  few  moments  before  flow  gently  down  their  chan- 
nels; but  after  one  of  these  rains,  in  a  few  minutes  they  become 
raging  torrents,  muddy  and  sometimes  bringing  down  fallen 
trees  and  roots  and  rocks. 

All  of  a  sudden,  and  in  less  time  than  I  am  taking  now  to 
tell  you,  a  big,  dark,  heavy  cloud  arose  up  from  the  northwest, 
going  directly  southeast.  In  a  few  minutes  it  burst  in  such  ter- 
rific fury  that  the  cattle  could  not  face  the  storm,  and  the  cap- 
tain seemed  forced  to  direct  the  company  to  unhitch  the  teams, 
turn  them  loose,  and  block  the  wheels  to  keep  the  wagons  from 
running  back  down  the  hill!     The  cattle  fled  before  the  storm 


758  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

down  into  the  entrance  into  Parley's  canyon,  from  the  Park,  into 
and  through  the  brush. 

Luckily,  the  storm  lasted  only  a  short  time.  As  it  ceased 
to  rain,  and  the  wind  ceased  to  blow,  my  brother  drove  up  with 
our  lost  cattle.  We  then  hitched  them  to  the  wagon,  and  the 
question  was  asked  by  my  uncle  of  my  mother: 

"Mary,  what  shall  we  do?  go  on,  or  wait  for  the  company 
to  gather  up  their  teams?" 

She  said:  "Joseph  [that  was  her  brother's  name],  they 
have  not  waited  for  us,  and  I  see  no  necessity  for  us  to  wait  for 
them." 

So,  we  hitched  up  and  rolled  up  the  mountain,  leaving  the 
company  behind,  and  this  was  on  the  23rd  day  of  September, 
1848. 

We  reached  the  Old  Fort  about  10  o'clock  that  Saturday 
night.  The  next  morning,  in  the  Old  Bowery,  we  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  listening  to  President  Brigham  Young  and  President 
Kimball,  Erastus  Snow,  and  some  others,,  give  some  very  excel- 
lent instructions.  Then,  on  the  afternoon  of  that  Sunday,  we 
went  out  and  met  our  friends  coming  in,  very  dusty,  and  very 
foot-sore,  and  very  tired! 

The  prediction  of  the  widow  was  actually  fulfilled;  we  beat 
them  into  the  Valley,  and  we  asked  no  help  from  them,  either! 


Why  Should  I  Sing? 


My  lute  is  attuned,  but  why  should  I  sing? 
Harken!  the  ages  with  great  anthems  ring: 
Wonderful  music  of  minstrelsy  old, 
Triumphant  songs  of  the  mountains  and  wold, 
Of  brave  cavaliers,  of  love  and  of  hate, 
Songs  of  achievement  of  country  and  state, 
Themes  great  and  small,  well  sung  have  they  been, 
In  the  long  ago  time  by  both  women  and  men. 
Yet,  should  I  not  sing?     Must  my  voice  be  mute, 
When  heart  tlirobs  insistent  vibrate  with  the  lute? 

Unashamed,  I  raise  my  feeble  voice,  nor  longer  think  of  failure. 

If  noble  theme  my  song  may  never  grace, 
Still  must  I  sing,  tho'  none  e'er  list  or  heed  the  simple  strain ; 

Must  ever  strive  to  fill  my  humble  place. 
For,  lo !  borne  on  the  fresh'ning  breeze  of  morn,  methinks  I  hear 

A  message  wafted  o'er  the  tideless  sea; 
"Be  not  afraid,  sing  on!  sing  on!     'Tis  I,  Thy  God,  who  speaks: 

Thy  little  songs  may  bring  a  soul  to  me." 

Grace  Ingles  Frost 


Gold  Mines  and  Riches 


By  Nephi  Anderson 


Early  in  the  morning  I  climbed  up  the  hillside  above  Eu- 
reka, perchance  to  find  a  gold  mine.  The  air  was  clear,  cool, 
and  invigorating.  The  gray  hills  were  tinted  with  the  green 
of  growing  grass,  and  dotted  with  the  bright  red  and  blue  and 
yellow,  odorous  wild  flowers  whose  names  I  do  not  know,  more's 
the  pity  or  the  shame. 

However,  I  was  not  to  be  enticed  by  flowers  or  landscape. 
I  was  to  find  and  locate  a  mine.  I  was  not  the  first  prospector 
who  had  been  on  these  hills,  for  I  had  been  informed  that  every 
foot  of  ground  had  been  crawled  over  by  men  in  search  of  "in- 
dications." The  heaps  of  earth  of  various  sizes  and  colors  lying 
close  by  gaping  holes  told  where  the  searchers  after  wealth  had 
tried  to  find  it  by  means  of  pick  and  shovel,  and  had  failed. 

I  knew  very  little  about  mining,  but  I  was  told  that  Uncle 
Knight  was  not  much  wiser  in  his  day  and  time,  when  he,  too, 
sat  on  these  hills  and  received  his  impressions  on  where  to  dig. 
"Right  around  the  hill  toward  Knightsville,"  said  my  informant, 
"Brother  Knight  started  his  first  tunnel.  'What  shall  we  call 
this  mine?'  he  had  asked,  and  the  skeptical  friend  had  sug- 
gested 'The  Humbug.'  'The  Humbug'  it  shall  be,'  was  the  re- 
ply, and  'The  Humbug'  it  is."  The  first  shipment  from  this  mine 
brought  $10,000,  which  amount  was  turned  to  a  very  good  pub- 
lic purpose. 

But  I  found  no  mine  that  morning.  Perhaps  it  was  be- 
cause I  did  not  know  where  to  look  or  what  to  look  for;  so  I 
philosophized  instead,  which  is  more  pleasant  on  a  warm  spring 
morning  than  to  dig  in  the  dirt.  I  climbed  up  on  a  warm 
boulder  and  looked  out  over  town  and  the  distant  sage-covered 
valley,  checkered  with  blocks  of  green — the  beginnings  of  dry- 
farming. 

How  strange,  I  meditated,  that  eo  much  time  and  means  and 
labor  should  be  expended  on  getting  from  the  mountains  cer- 
tain metals  called  precious!  Deep  down  lies  the  gold,  mixed 
with  earth  and  rock  and  baser  metals,  and  tucked  away  between 
rock-bound  walls.  Why  had  not  the  Creator,  instead  of  mixing 
things  up  so,  just  had  all  the  gold  and  the  silver  made  into  con- 
veniently sized  bars  of  bullion,  ready  for  use? 

The  question  was  still  with  me  when,  after  breakfast,  I 
visited  the  Tintic  High  school  and  spoke  to  the  students  a  few 
moments;  and  the  answer  came  when  I  saw  those  young  people 


760  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

poring  over  their  books,  "digging"  after  stores  of  knowledge. 
I  realized  that  the  Lord  made  no  mistake  when  he  placed  out 
of  easy,  immediate  reach  all  things,  whether  of  material  or  in- 
tellectual or  spiritual  value ;  but  ordained  that  these  things  must 
be  searched  for,  must  be  persistently  and  diligently  and  intelli- 
gently dug  for,  and  sometimes  fought  for;  and  I  realized  also 
that  in  the  end  the  non-material  "values"  obtained  came  as  much 
from  the  process  of  digging  or  fighting  as  from  what  might  be 
found  in  the  end. 

A  mile  up  on  the  hillside  above  Eureka  is  Knightsville, 
where  I  found  Bishop  Fuller.  He  was  the  superintendent  of 
the  Knight  properties  there. 

"I  want  to  visit  the  Beck  Tunnel  mine,"  I  explained,  "to  see 
if,  perchance,  I  might  find  that  thousand  dollars  I  dropped 
in  it!" 

This  little  pleasantry  of  mine  seemed  to  meet  a  "fellow 
feeling"  with  a  good  many  people;  but  they  all  shook  their 
heads  and  smiled  skeptically.  However,  the  good  bishop 
rigged  me  up  in  old  clothes,  and  down  the  Beck  Tunnel  we 
went.  The  cage  landed  us  at  various  and  sundry  levels,  and 
we  wended  our  way  through  dark  and  devious  passages  under 
the  mountain.  Occasionally  we  came  upon  a  miner  digging 
out  under  a  lease  contract  the  small  bodies  of  ore  left  when  the 
big  operations  of  the  company  were  in  full  blast  years  ago.  I 
learned  that  many  of  the  old  properties  are  now  profitably 
worked  in  this  way,  which,  of  course,  shows  how  much  more 
diligent  a  man  will  be  when  he  is  his  own  boss. 

After  spending  an  hour  or  so  under  ground,  we  came  to  the 
surface  through  the  Colorado  shaft,  and  looked  gratefully  at  the 
low  range  of  mountains  at  our  feet,  the  Goshen  valley  and  Utah 
lake  in  the  middle  distance. 

"On  a  clear  day,"  said  the  man  in  charge,  "we  can  see  the 
"Y"  on  the  hills  above  Provo." 

"Well,"  I  commented,  as  I  drew  in  the  odorous  air  and 
looked  out  on  the  prospect,  "I  wouldn't  mind  being  a  miner  if 
I  could  work  up  here  on  the  surface  all  the  time." 

Coming  back  to  Knightsville  and  donning  our  every-day 
clothes,  Bishop  Fuller's  automobile  took  me  around  to  Mam- 
moth and  set  me  down  under  Bishop  Steedman's  shade  trees. 
Later,  I  went  around  the  hill  to  Silver  City,  which  is  quite  a 
town — by  night.  Electric  lights  gleam  profusely  from  the 
houses,  and  especially  from  Bishop  Birch's  unique  residence. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  spacious  yet  cozy  and  comfortable  of 
homes.  (Bishop  Birch  has  recently  been  made  President 
of  the  new  Tintic  stake  of  Zion.) 


GOLD  MINES  AND  RICHES  761 

The  next  morning  I  went  up  on  the  hills  again,  and  there 
T.  met  an  old  friend  of  mine  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  some 
time.  He  was  a  miner,  he  said,  working  for  himself  under  a 
lease  contract.  As  he  was  his  own  boss,  and  as  we  were  both 
glad  to  see  each  other,  he  lingered  for  some  time  with  me  in 
the  warm  sunshine  near  the  shaft,  and  we  told  each  other  our 
more  recent  histories.  In  our  younger  days  we  had  been  con- 
fidants, so  we  talked  freely  to  each  other. 

"I  understand  that  you  are  a  rich  man  now,"  I  said. 

"Rich!     In  what?" 

"Why,  in  gold,  of  course.  How  else  should  a  miner  be 
rich?" 

My  friend  looked  at  me  keenly,  in  a  manner  he  had.  "There 
might  be  other  ways,  even  for  a  miner,"  he  said;  "and  now  you 
call  my  attention  to  it,  I  suppose  I  am  rich." 

"Well?"  I  questioned  as  he  paused;  for  there  was  some 
hidden  meaning  in  his  words,  and  I  wanted  the  story. 

"I  might  as  well  tell  you  about  it,  seeing  that  you  know  so 
much  anyway" — this  latter  with  a  bit  of  irony.  "You  remember 
when  the  big  slump  came  in  mining  stock,  some  years  ago?" 

"I  do,  to  my  sorrow." 

"Well,  I  had  speculated  a  little  for  myself  and  for  others, 
but  I  had  made  no  money.  One  day,  a  widow,  a  neighbor  to 
us  in  my  home  town,  came  to  me  and  said  she  had  ten  thousand 
dollars  which  she  wished  to  invest  in  a  certain  mining  stock. 
She  had  heard  that  the  stock  was  a  safe  investment,  she  said. 
I  also  had  heard  that  statement,  but  more  recently  I  had  heard 
things  to  the  contrary.  The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  I  had 
made  a  big  plunge  in  that  very  stock,  and  if  recent  rumors 
proved  true,  I  would  be  a  ruined  man.  I  therefore  jumped  at 
the  chance  here  offered  to  get  out  clear.  I  sold  the  woman  my 
stock  and  took  her  money. 

"I  then  took  the  first  train  out  here  to  Tintic.  I  came  up 
here  to  the  mine,  looked  over  the  ground,  heard  the  stories 
flying  about,  and  saw  what  was  coming.  What  a  narrow  escape 
I  have  had!  thought  I.  I  remained  right  here  and  saw  the 
stock  drop  day  by  day  until  it  nearly  reached  the  vanishing 
point.  For  a  day  or  two  I  gloated  over  my  good  fortune;  but, 
somehow,  I  didn't  care  to  go  home  to  tell  about  it  or  to  exhibit 
it.  I  was  afraid  I  would  meet  that  neighbor  who  had  some  beau- 
tifully engraved  sheets  of  paper,  now  worth  only  a  few  dollars 
at  the  most.  Oftener  the  picture  of  this  good  woman  came  to 
me.  As  far  back  as  I  could  remember,  we  had  been  neighbors. 
As  a  boy  I  had  always  felt  free  in  her  home,  and  many  a  cookie 
I  had  had  from  her  cake  box.  She  had  no  children  and  her 
husband  had  left  her  well-to-do.  I  was  sure  the  ten  thousand 
dollars  she  had  invested  was  only  a  part  of  her  money. 


762 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


"But  I  couldn't  get  the  woman  out  of  my  mind,  try  as  I 
would;  and  slowly  there  came  to  me  the  idea  that  what  I  had 
done  was  not  quite  the  right  thing.  'It  was  purely  a  matter  of 
business,'  a  subtle  something  whispered  to  me,  'why  bother 
more  about  it?'  'Yes,'  I  managed  to  reply,  'the  transaction  was 
straight  enough,  but  I  knew  the  stock  was  shaky,  and  I  should 
have  warned  her.'  'She  might  have  gone  to  someone  else.' 
'True,  but  she  came  to  me,  more's  the  luck,  or  the  pity.'  'But 
you  have  the  money,  and  you  need  it  much  more  than  she  does.' 
'True  again,'  I  acknowledged,  'but  that's  not  the  point  at  issue. 
Legally  I  can  keep  the  money.  It  is  mine.'  But  this  thought 
came  to  me  time  and  again:  'What  effect  will  the  keeping  of  this 
money  have  on  me — I  don't  mean  on  my  bank  account  or  my 
worldly  affairs,  but  on  me,  myself?' 

"Well,  to  make  my  story  short,  I  went  home,  and  straight  to 
the  woman  and  told  her  the  truth  about  the  stock  she  had 
bought.     Then  I  gave  her  back  her  money " 

"She  took  it,  of  course?"  I  asked. 

"Yes;  she  just  thanked  me  kindly.  The  simple  soul  had  no 
idea  I  had  done  anything  out  of  the  way  or  heroic,"  said  the 
speaker  with  a  quiet  laugh.  "But,  say,  come  down  to  my  work- 
ings.    I  want  to  show  you  a  beautiful  prospect." 

"Where  you  have  obtained  the  riches  you  have  been  speak- 
ing of?" 

"Now,  don't  play  the  dullard,"  he  admonished.  "My  riches 
are  not  of  the  earth,  earthy;  but  they  are  right  here!"  He 
struck  his  chest  soundly  as  he  said  it. 

"My  conscience!"  I  exclaimed.  "No,"  he  corrected.  "Mine." 


Q 


Liberty 

By  Louis  L.  Allen 


The  spirit  of  American  liberty  was  born  in  the  patriotic 
hearts  of  those  who  bore  arms  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill. 
Many  of  these  men  were  not  American  born,  but  they  were  dedi- 
cated Americans  in  the  fires  of  a  new  republic.  These  men  who 
drew  the  sword  in  defense  of  American  rights  had  come  here 
from  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe.  They  left  their  native 
lands  because  of  the  oppression  of  kings  and  nobles.  In  the 
great  silent  forests  of  our  land  they  found  freedom  in  the  air 
they  breathed.  They  built  up  strong  bodies  and  pure  minds  in 
the  simple  surroundings  of  the  early  colonies,  and  when  the  time 
came  to  decide  between  self-government  and  government  by  a 
foreign  power,  they  stood  almost  as  one  man  for  liberty. 

Here,  then,  could  be  worked  out  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  modern  world  a  pure  democracy.  A  land  where 
the  people  could  rule  themselves  and  where  it  was  not  necessary 
to  take  away  from  anyone  what  he  considers  his  legitimate 
rights. 

When  the  day  came,  the  mother  country  concluded  she  could 
pass  laws  that  would  be  binding  on  these  colonies,  without  their 
consent.  They  raised  up  in  their  might  and  drove  her  from  the 
land.  This  was  one  of  the  most  important  steps  toward  liberal 
government,  and  the  emancipation  of  mankind  from  the  tyranny 
of  kings  and  nobles,  that  ever  took  place  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race.  It  was  a  great  light  which  was  to  lead  other  na- 
tions from  the  oppression  of  the  chosen  few  and  make  them  free- 
men in  all  that  the  term  means. 

We  should  be  proud  that  America  has  given  birth  to  such 
conceptions  as  these;  that  its  object  in  the  world,  its  only  reason 
for  existence  as  a  government  was  to  lift  the  common  man  out 
of  the  slough  of  discouragement  and  even  despair,  to  set  his  feet 
upon  solid  ground  and  tell  him,  "Here  is  the  high  road  upon 
which  you  are  as  much  entitled  to  walk  as  any  other  man." 

The  American  Revolution  was  the  birth  of  a  nation,  it  was 
also  the  creation  of  a  great  free  republic  based  upon  ideas  of  lib- 
erty of  which  heretofore  men  had  only  vaguely  dreamed,  but 
which  it  was  proposed  should  spread  to  all  mankind. 

The  singular  fascination  of  American  history  is  that  it  has 


764  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

been  a  process  of  constant  recreation,  or  making  over  again,  in 
each  generation  the  thing  that  was  conceived  at  first. 

The  world  must  soon  realize  that  the  passion  of  this  country 
is  to  be  permitted  to  live  her  own  life  according  to  her  own 
principles.  The  only  thing  she  profoundly  resents  or  will  ever 
resent,  is  having  her  life  and  freedom  interfered  with. 

The  world  must  soon  realize  that  the  promises  of  the  fathers, 
and  the  ambitions  of  the  men  who  gave  up  their  lives  that 
this  country  might  live,  have  been  vindicated.  Well  might  the 
world  say,  "America  promised  to  hold  up  the  light  of  liberty 
and  freedom  for  the  guidance  of  our  feet,  and  behold  she  has 
redeemed  her  promises." 

In  the  course  of  time  this  nation  was  born  and  dedicated  to 
the  cause  of  human  liberty.  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is  a  God-inspired  instrument.  It  has  well  been  said,  "It  is 
not  right  that  man  should  be  in  bondage  one  to  another,"  and 
hence  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  should  be  maintained 
for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  and  the  protection  of  all  flesh, 
"according  to  just  and  holy  principles,  that  every  man  may  act 
in  doctrine  and  principle,  pertaining  to  futurity,  according  to  the 
moral  agency  which  I  [the  Lord]  have  given  unto  them,  that 
every  man  may  be  accountable  for  his  own  sins  in  the  day  of 

judgment And  for  this  purpose  have  I  established 

the  Constitution  of  this  land,  by  the  hands  of  wise  men  whom  I 
raised  up  unto  this  very  purpose."  With  that  spirit  the  greatest 
land  of  freedom  that  has  ever  blessed  this  world  was  established, 
and  stands  forth  today  an  example  and  a  star  of  hope  to  all  the 
down-trodden  peoples  of  the  earth. 

Hither  have  come  countless  millions.  We  have  welcomed 
them  to  our  shores  and  have  extended  to  them  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship.  All  that  we  ask  is  that  they  become  genuine  Amer- 
icans in  the  full  sense  of  the  word.  We  do  not  ask  them  to  for- 
get the  things  they  loved  at  home,  but  when  an  issue  arises  be- 
tween America  and  the  land  from  which  they  came,  we  expect 
them  to  respond  at  once,  "America  First." 

We  have  taken  the  ideal  form  of  popular  government  and 
applied  the  policies  which  have  led  a  continent  to  the  Altar  of 
Liberty,  and  glorified  the  Republic.  Let  us  stand  today  as  Amer- 
icans have  ever  stood,  for  America  first,  last,  and  all  the  time; 
and  we  should  echo  the  words  of  our  great  national  song,  "My 
Country  'tis  of  Thee,  Sweet  Land  of  Liberty."  Everyone  should 
pledge  himself  in  this  high  and  ardent  hour  that  in  death  and 
earnest  loyalty,  in  patient  painstaking  and  care,  he  shall  watch 
her  interests,  advance  her  fortune,  defend  her  fame,  and  guard 
her  honor  as  long  as  life  shall  last ! 

Buhl,  Idaho 


Back  to  the  Faith 


By  Annie  D.  Palmer 


"For  this  shall  be  a  law  unto  the  inhabitants  of  Zion,  or  in  any  of  her 
stakes  which  are  organized; 

"And  their  children  shall  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins  when 
eight  years  old,  and  receive  the  laying  on  of  hands; 

"And  they  shall  also  teach  their  children  to  pray  and  to  walk  uprightly 
before  the  Lord." 

Alice  Moreton  read  the  passage  from  her  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants three  times.  Then  she  laid  the  book  down  and  sat  think- 
ing and  looking  wistfully  at  her  husband.  The  subject  had  been 
much  on  her  mind  of  late,  and  she  felt  that  she  must  talk  with 
him  about  it. 

Presently  she  said  by  way  of  introduction:  "This  has  been 
a  hard  day,  Frank,  I  am  so  tired." 

"Why  don't  you  go  to  bed,  dear?"  he  asked,  "the  children 
are  all  asleep,  aren't  they?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  "the  children  are  asleep;  but  Frank,  I 
have  been  thinking — " 

"Well,  what  have  you  been  thinking?" 

"We  used  to  kneel  down  together  and  have  prayer  before 
you  went  away.  We  never  seem  to  have  time  for  prayer  any 
more." 

"It's  childish,"  he  said  with  a  half  frown.  "If  God  really 
cares  for  his  children  and  knows  their  need,  why  should  he  want 
them  to  be  continually  asking  for  things?" 

"We  should  forget  him,  dear,  if  we  did  not  need  to  ask  for 
his  gifts.  Besides,  do  we  not  owe  gratitude  for  all  the  blessings 
of  life?" 

"There  are  better  ways  of  showing  gratitude  than  being  con- 
stantly on  one's  knees.  To  live  honestly  and  honorably  is 
better." 

"There  is  nothing  to  hinder  people  from  doing  both.  I 
can't  understand  the  change  that  has  come  over  you,  dear.  When 
you  came  from  your  mission,  four  years  ago,  you  were  full  of  the 
spirit  of  prayer;  and  so  sure  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  that  you 
would  gladly  have  given  your  life  in  its  defense.  I  remember 
the  first  Sunday  you  were  here.  I  sat  with  our  two  little  children 
and  listened  to  your  testimony,  and  wished  in  my  heart  that 


766  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

both  Frances  and  Joey  could  understand  every  word  you  said. 
You  told  how  the  Lord  had  inspired  you  in  teaching  the  gospel, 
how  the  sick  had  been  healed  through  your  administration,  how 
you  had  been  protected  from  evil  designing  men,  how  food  and 
clothing  had  been  provided  for  your  need,  and  how  you  had 
been  able  to  rejoice  in  every  trial,  because  you  knew  the  truth 
of  God's  work.  Oh,  Frank!  it  was  a  living  testimony  that  you 
bore  that  day,  and  it  thrilled  me  through  and  through.  Have 
you  forgotten?" 

"I  think  I  am  wiser  now." 

"Dare  you  say  that  testimony  was  not  true?" 

"I  was  probably  over  zealous — and  mistaken." 

"No,  dear,  you  were  not  mistaken.  You  and  I  were  happy 
in  the  year  that  followed  your  return.  We  didn't  have  much 
money  but  our  children  were  well ;  and  we  lived  our  humble  life 
secure  in  God's  love.  We  didn't  feel  in  those  days,  Frank,  that 
it  was  useless  to  ask  for  our  Father's  care,  or  unnecessary  to  offer 
thanks  for  his  goodness;  and,  when  baby  Afton  came  to  us — 
well,  I  can't  talk  about  it  yet  without  crying.  Only  last  week 
Dr.  Gray  pointed  her  out  in  a  crowd  and  said:  'There's  a  sweet 
little  girl  that  never  would  have  been  born,  but  for  the  faith  of 
a  couple  of  women  who  were  there,'  and  Dr.  Gray  is  not  even  a 
"Mormon." 

"Nobody  doubts  that  a  miracle  was  wrought  that  day,  Alice 
— but  it  might  have  been — in  fact,  I  think  it  would  have  been 
the  same,  even  if  we  had  not  prayed  at  all." 

"And  I  am  sure  that  it  was  the  prayer  of  faith  that  did  it — 
your  faith,  and  mother's,  and  Emma's." 

Frank  Moreton  resumed  his  reading,  and  his  wife  went  sadly 
to  her  room,  to  kneel  by  her  bedside  in  prayer  alone. 

To  be  sure,  she  had  so  knelt  habitually  during  the  two  years 
her  husband  had  been  away  at  college,  but  he  was  at  home  now 
and  she  looked  to  him  to  lead  in  religious  as  well  as  in  secular 
affairs.  Great  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks,  while  she  lifted 
her  heart  in  prayer  for  daily  help  and  guidance. 

Alice  Moreton  had  been  born  and  reared  a  "Mormon."  In  her 
girlhood  she  had  been  taught  the  need  of  marrying  a  man  of  her 
own  faith,  and  the  possibility  of  any  other  union  was  as  foreign 
to  her  thought  as  to  one  of  heaven's  purest  angels.  She  had 
been  married  to  Frank  in  the  temple.  He,  too,  had  been  full  of 
faith  in  the  gospel.  They  had  been  extremely  happy  in  their 
love;  and  the  two  children  that  had  come  to  them  in  the  first 
two  years  had  so  strengthened  the  band  between  them  that  their 
every  thought  seemed  bent  in  happy  unison. 

Frank's  mission  had  been  a  source  of  strength  to  both  of 
them;  and  Alice  was  learning  now  for  the  first  time,  how  her 


BACK  TO  THE  FAITH  767 

husband's  college  work  was  tearing  out  the  very  stones  upon 
which  their  tower  of  faith  was  built.  Frank  had  ceased  to  pray. 
She  remembered  now  that  he  had  criticized  severely  a  testimony 
that  a  good  sister  had  related  in  fast  meeting.  She  doubted  that 
he  had  paid  any  tithing  during  the  last  year.  She  recalled  that 
several  times  the  smell  of  tobacco  on  his  clothing  had  been  sus- 
picious. Her  confidence  wavered;  her  heart  trobbed  with  a 
heavy  pain. 

To  women  less  earnest  in  their  religion,  less  spiritual  in 
their  desires,  these  matters  might  have  been  trivial,  but  Alice 
had  been  taught  to  look  upon  this  life  as  a  preparation  for  life 
eternal.  She  had  learned  to  count  earth's  family  ties  as  ties 
that  shall  have  no  end,  and  the  rearing  of  children  in  the  fear  of 
God  as  the  greatest  thing  to  be  done  in  all  the  world.  And  in 
the  gradual  weakening  of  her  husband's  faith,  she  saw  an  almost 
insurmountable  barrier  to  the  onward  progress  of  eternity.  With 
a  confidence  born  of  her  perfect  love,  she  told  herself  that  she 
would  never  cease  to  pray  until  he  walked  firmly  again  in  the 
way  of  life. 

The  husband  returned  to  the  medical  college  when  the  sum- 
mer vacation  was  over,  and  in  the  year  that  followed  drifted 
rapidly  down  the  stream  of  skepticism  and  unbelief. 

Toward  the  latter  end  of  the  third  year's  work,  Mr.  Moreton 
was  called  home  on  account  of  the  very  serious  illness  of  little 
Afton.  The  child  seemed  scarcely  alive  when  he  reached  home, 
and  for  three  days  lay  so  near  to  death  that  it  wanted  but  the 
whisper  of  the  heavenly  angel  to  summon  her  away.  The 
mother's  heart  was  lifted  in  constant  prayer  for  her  recovery. 
The  father  looked  calmly  on  and  joined  his  newly  acquired  skill 
with  the  skill  of  the  old  physician  who  had  attended  the  family 
for  years. 

At  last  the  crisis  was  past.  Speedily  the  little  one  came 
back  to  health.  Again  the  home  took  on  its  normal  cheer. 
Frank  had  lost  two  weeks,  but  in  the  joy  of  seeing  Afton  well, 
he  felt  able  to  make  it  all  up. 

"I  really  understood  the  case  better  than  did  Dr.  Oldham," 
he  said  to  his  wife  on  the  evening  before  his  departure.  "The 
science  of  medicine  is  advancing  so  fast,  it  almost  takes  one's 
breath  away  to  keep  up  with  it." 

"God  was  so  good,"  Alice  answered,  as  she  stroked  his  head 
softly,  "to  let  us  keep  our  darling."  After  a  pause  she  asked, 
"Don't  you  see  that  it  was  God  who  healed  her?" 

"I  don't  just  see  the  relation  between  God  and  that  first 
dose  of  medicine  we  gave  her.  It  was  so  out  of  the  ordinary — so 
different  from  the  usual  treatment." 

"It  was  an  inspiration!     Oh,  Frank!  can't  you  understand 


768  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

that  we  are  only  the  means  of  carrying  out  Heaven's  will?  The 
fact  that  the  dose  was  unusual  is  additional  proof  to  me,  that 
our  Father  heard  our  prayers  and  prompted  the  treatment." 

"You  mean  that  he  heard  your  prayers,"  the  man  answered 
in  his  arrogance. 

"Heard  our  prayers,"  repeated  his  wife,  "mine  and  the  chil- 
dren's." 

"Alice,  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  hurt  your  feelings,"  Mr.  More- 
ton  began  deliberately,  "but,  I  don't  want  you  to  teach  that 
stuff  to  the  children.  I  want  my  children  to  grow  up  with 
their  minds  free  and  unbiased  in  matters  of  religion.  They 
can  decide  those  things  when  they  have  judgment  to  weigh 
them  properly." 

"And  I  want  my  children  to  grow  up,"  she  answered  firmly, 
"with  a  faith  so  strong,  that  no  trial  and  no  temptation,  and 
no  learning  can  shake  it!  Tell  me,  Frank,  what  have  you 
gained  in  throwing  away  the  faith  of  your  father?  Are  you 
a  better  citizen,  since  you  are  not  religious?  Are  you  a  kinder 
husband  and  father,  since  you  doubt  God?  Is  your  life  cleaner, 
more  useful,  more  hopeful,  since  you  cast  Divinity  aside?  Has 
happiness  increased,  or  any  gift  been  added  to  replace  the  joy 
your  faith  afforded?     Answer  me  truly" 

"I  am  wiser,  Alice,  I  know  better." 

"I  do  not  want  your  wisdom !  A  wisdom  that  takes  faith  out 
of  my  heart,  that  puts  God  out  of  my  life,  and  gives  me 
nothing  in  return — " 

"Would  you  have  the  world  ignorant?" 

"No,  far  from  it!  But  I  would  have  men  and  women  enter 
the  fields  of  higher  learning  with  the  view  of  finding  out  God's 
mysteries,  rather  than  with  the  desire  to  disprove  Him.  A  few 
weeks  ago  I  spent  a  day  in  the  temple.  In  the  morning  service 
President  Lund  bore  testimony  that  he  knows  that  God  lives 
and  hears  us  when  we  pray.  This  thought  came  to  me:  'Pres- 
ident Lund's  education  is  so  vastly  superior  to  any  of  our 
ordinary  college  men — and  yet  he  knows  God!  How  the 
thought  burned  itself  into  my  heart!  And  when  a  young  elder 
sang,  'I  know  that  my  Redeemer  Lives,'  it  seemed  to  me  that  a 
host  of  angels  bore  witness  to  the  truth  of  my  conviction !  Frank, 
if  you  value  my  happiness,  do  not  try  to  weaken  my  faith,  nor 
to  prevent  me  from  teaching  it  to  our  children!" 

"Oh,  well,"  he  answered  carelessly,  "as  you  will.  I  suppose 
it  won't  really  hurt  the  youngsters  much,  though  it's  a  terrible 
waste  of  time." 

For  five  years  Moreton  had  been  practicing  medicine  in 
his  own  home  town.     His  practice  had  been  wonderfully  sue- 


BACK  TO  THE  FAITH  769 

cessful  in  more  ways  than  one.  He  had  been  able  to  pay  his 
debts,  to  build  a  commodious  home,  to  dress  well,  to  ride  in  a 
splendid  car,  and  to  lay  by  a  snug  little  sum  for  a  rainy  day. 
He  had  built  up  a  good  business  for  his  future  and  an  enviable 
professional  reputation.  As  men  count  success,  there  was  little 
else  to  be  desired.  But  his  wife  was  growing  prematurely  old. 
She  was  never  happy  now  as  in  early  days;  the  nearest  approach 
to  it  was  when  she  and  the  children  sang  hymns  and  folk  songs, 
and  told  each  other's  experiences,  after  the  lamps  were  lighted. 
She  was  fully  appreciative  of  the  blessings  of  life,  their  beau- 
tiful home,  their  bright  romping  children,  her  good  health,  and 
all  the  good  they  were  able  to  do.  But,  persistently  would 
come  to  her  Christ's  question  to  the  disciples:  "For  what  is  a  man 
profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own 
eoul?" 

And  now  a  thing  occurred  which  came  very  near  losing  to 
Dr.  Moreton  the  joy  of  the  whole  world,  too.  He  had  stopped 
where  the  metal  front  of  a  building  was  being  erected.  In  an 
unlucky  moment  he  drew  close  to  a  man  who  was  hammering 
the  metal  very  hard.  A  chip  of  steel  hit  his  eye  cutting  through 
the  corner  and  lodging  far  back  in  the  retina.  Dr.  Moreton 
went  to  his  office  and  immediately  gave  it  the  best  attention 
within  his  power.  There  was  no  other  doctor  in  the  town,  and 
no  eye  specialist  within  two  hundred  miles.  His  mirror  showed 
him  only  the  ugly  three-cornered  cut,  so  .he  supposed  the 
steel  that  had  hit  him  had  fallen  away.  He  washed  the  eye 
carefully  and  put  on  a  bandage. 

The  next  day  he  made  another  examination.  The  wound 
seemed  to  be  healing  nicely,  but  the  pain  was  not  lessened.  For 
two  days  more  he  paced  up  and  down  his  office  floor,  little 
heeding  whether  it  was  in  darkness  or  in  light.  His  wife  was 
unable  to  comfort  him.  The  children  cried  and  went  away — 
except  Afton.  She  would  stay  by  him  hours  at  a  time  and  hold 
his  hand  and  walk  the  floor  with  him.  She  scarcely  ever  spoke 
except  to  ask: 

"May  I  bring  you  a  drink,  papa?  or  a  piece  of  cake?  or  an 

on 

orange : 

Once  she  said  timidly,  "We  have  prayed  for  you,  papa,  we 
alwavs  pray  for  you." 

"Yes,  dear,"  he  answered,  "I  know." 

On  the  third  day  Alice  noticed  that  he  frequently  put  his 
hand  over  the  other  eye;  and  when  she  asked  him  he  admitted 
that  it,  too,  was  paining  him  very  much.  In  the  afternoon  he 
arranged  the  bandage  to  cover  them  both. 

And  now  Afton  led  him  to  and  fro  in  the  room  and  sat  and 
caressed  him  when  he  tired  of  walking,  and  his  heart  sank  with 


770  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

the  helplessness  that  he  felt  was  coming,  and  he  moaned  des- 
pairingly, and  could  not  find  comfort. 

Alice's  grief  was  quite  as  terrible  as  his  own.  She  realized 
that  his  soul  had  in  great  measure  shut  out  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  it  seemed  now  that  the  sunshine  of  earth  was  also  to  be 
denied  him.  She  prayed,  how  earnestly,  how  constantly,  she 
prayed,  that  the  mercy  of  God  would  spare  them  the  awful 
calamity! 

"If  the  foreign  body  that  entered  the  eye  had  been  re- 
moved the  wound  would  heal,  and  the  pain  ought  to  cease," 
reasoned  Dr.  Moreton  to  himself.  "The  foreign  body  must 
therefore  still  be  in  the  eye.  The  workman  was  hammering 
steel,  so  the  chip  that  did  the  mischief  is  probably  steel.  If 
that  is  true  a  strong  magnet  will  remove  it." 

He  called  a  careful  business  man  to  take  him  to  see  the 
eye  specialist.  On  the  way  he  talked  to  the  business  man  about  the 
terrible  dread  that  was  on  his  mind — described  how  it  seemed 
to  face  the  world  henceforth,  forever,  in  the  dark — how  he  had 
perhaps  looked  at  his  wife  and  children  for  the  last  time — how 
his  little  daughter  had  led,  and  how  she  would  continue  to 
lead,  him. 

The  eye  specialist  made  the  examination,  and  was  puzzled. 
Then  Dr.  Moreton  advanced  his  theory.  The  magnet  was 
brought.  When  it  came  into  close  proximity  with  the  scar  in 
the  eyeball,  there  was  a  thump  against  the  outer  surface  as 
if  the  eye  had  been  struck  from  within,  and  the  eye  ball 
bulged  perceptibly.  The  half  healed  opening  was  too  small  to 
allow  the  chip  to  pass.  With  a  most  delicate  instrument  the 
cut  was  enlarged  and  the  magnet  again  applied.  This  time  it 
came  through  the  opening  and  adhered  to  the  magnet.  It  was 
an  achievement  to  the  profession.  The  eye  recovered  speedily, 
and  the  other  one  which  had  been  suffering  only  out  of  sym- 
pathy, was  now  perfectly  normal.  Dr.  Moreton  said  rather 
boastfully  that  the  experiment  was  well  worth  the  suffering. 
Alice  humbly  gave  thanks  to  God  and  acknowledged  it  as  an 
inspiration. 

It  is  most  difficult  to  understand  why  some  spirits  so  stub- 
bornly resist  the  beneficent  influences  that  heaven  sheds 
around  them.  It  was  so  with  Dr.  Moreton.  Having  once  denied 
the  testimony  of  the  truth,  it  was  very  hard  for  him  to  put  away 
his  pride  and  accept  a  power  that  was  greater  than  his  ambition. 
But  there  came  a  time  when  the  petitions  of  his  faithful  wife 
could  no  longer  be  denied  of  heaven,  a  time  when  his  haught- 
iness must  be  broken  that  her  prayers  might  prevail,  and  be- 
cause he  had  eo  fortified  himself  against  the  teachings  of  his 


BACK  TO  THE  FAITH  771 

childhood,  the  chastening  hand  must  needs  be  laid  heavily  upon 
him  in  order  to  make  him  understand. 

The  older  children  had  gone  to  a  school  party.  Dr.  More- 
ton  and  his  wife  and  sister  were  at  the  theatre.  Afton  was  at 
home  with  the  sister's  two  little  children.  Suddenly  it  occurred 
to  the  young  girl  that  they  could  have  popcorn,  so  she  set  about 
making  a  fire.  In  order  to  hurry  the  blaze  she  took  the  coal 
oil  can  and  poured  oil  on  the  smouldering  coals.  In  an  instant 
the  can  was  aflame.  She  held  on  to  it  and  carried  it  outside, 
but  threw  it  down  near  the  corner  of  the  frame  kitchen.  It  took  but 
a  moment  to  start  a  blaze  that  spread  rapidly  through  the 
house.  Meanwhile  the  child  with  wonderful  presence  of  mind, 
had  extinguished  the  fire  in  her  clothing  by  rolling  herself  in 
a  rug  on  the  floor.  While  there  in  agonizing  pain  the  house  be- 
gan to  fill  with  smoke,  and  great  flames  shot  through  the  kitchen 
door.  Realizing  the  terrible  truth  she  managed  to  get  the  two 
little  ones  out  and  at  a  safe  distance.  Then  she  swooned  and 
knew  no  more  until  she  heard  the  pleading  tones  of  her  mother 
praying  that  Father  in  Heaven  would  spare  her  life.  They  had 
carried  her  to  a  little  two-roomed  cot  across  the  street,  where 
an  old  woman  lived  with  her  cat  and  chickens.  There  they 
had  stripped  off  the  burned  clothing  and  dressed  the  awful 
burns  that  covered  her  chest,  neck,  and  right  arm.  For  hours 
they  had  sat  watching  for  a  return  of  consciousness,  while  the 
flames  licked  up  the  remains  of  their  beautiful  home  and  left 
a  heap  of  smoking  embers. 

When  Afton  opened  her  eyes  the  father  turned  away  his 
tear  wet  face  and  sobbed  aloud  for  joy.  But  days  lengthened 
into  weeks  and  into  months  and  still  the  little  girl  lay  upon  the 
pillows.  The  burns  healed  slowly,  proud  flesh  grew  in  the 
wounds,  the  forces  of  nature  seemed  too  much  exhausted  to 
effect  repairs.  And  now  the  father  noted  with  alarm  that  there 
was  heart  leakage  to  add  to  the  other  difficulties.  He  could  not 
tell  his  wife  of  this  discovery,  he  could  not  bear  to  think  of  it 
himself.  It  was  so  sickening — so  utterly  hopeless.  In  his  grief 
it  seemed  to  him  that  no  other  such  child  had  ever  lived  as 
this  child  that  was  being  taken  from  him — that  nothing  else  on 
earth  could  ever  be  worth  striving  for  when  her  innocence  and 
love  were  gone. 

As  he  sat  with  lowered  head  thinking  it  over,  the  frail  hand 
of  the  child  was  laid  on  his  and  the  feeble  voice  faltered: 

"You  can't  make  me  well,  can  you  papa?" 

"I  shall  try,  darling,  but—" 

"But  you  can't,  papa,  I  know  you  can't.  You  have  tried 
ever  so  long  and  I  am  not  better." 


772  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

"Not  much  better,  sweetheart!  What  do  you  want  papa 
to  do?" 

"Papa,  dear,  couldn't  you  ask  God?  Mama  has  asked  Him, 
and  so  have  Joey  and  Frances — but — if  the  whole  family  should 
ask — I  mean  kneel  down  together — here  by  my  bed — " 

"Yes,  yes,  child.     What  then?" 

"Then  the  Heavenly  Father  would  know  for  sure  that  you 
all  want  me!" 

There  was  a  long  sigh  from  the  child,  and  she  turned  her 
face  away.  The  man  sat  for  a  while  motionless,  pride  struggling 
against  humility,  blind  reason  seeking  to  overthrow  the  kindled 
spark  of  faith.  At  last  he  arose  and  went  to  the  bed  chamber. 
He  sat  there  for  an  hour  his  doubt  and  intense  desire  struggling 
for  supremacy.  The  weak  moaning  of  his  child  now  came  again 
to  his  ears  and  in  agony  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees  and  in 
tears  and  sobbing  began  to  call  upon  God.  Faith  had  conquered. 
His  prayer  was  sincere  and  earnest.  And  when  he  arose  and 
sought  his  wife  it  was  with  new  hope  and  a  tranquil  peace. 

"Alice,"  he  said,  'there  is  no  hope  for  Afton,  but  in  the 
power  of  God.  She  has  asked  that  we  all  kneel  by  her  bedside 
and  pray.    Will  you  call  the  children?" 

The  wife  gave  no  outwa  'i{  sign  of  surprise  or  joy,  but  her 
heart  was  happier  at  that  momtnt  than  it  had  been  before  since 
Afton  was  born. 

"Amen,"  the  little  sufferer  repeated  as  they  all  arose  after 
the  prayer  was  said,  and  a  moment  later  she  was  sleeping  peace- 
fully. 

In  a  few  days  the  child  was  sitting  propped  up  with  pillows. 
The  burns  were  healing  nicely  and  there  was  no  sign  of  the 
heart  trouble. 

"The  Heavenly  Father  is  the  best  doctor,  isn't  he,  papa?" 
she  said,  patting  her  father's  hand. 

"Yes,  darling.  He  is  a  wonderful  doctor.  He  has  cured 
your  heart,  and  made  mamma's  happy,  and  given  your  hard  old 
daddy  a  new  one." 

"He  can  do  everything  with  hearts,  can't  he?"  the  child 
said,  smiling. 

And  Dr.  Moreton  realizing  the  awful  struggle  his  change  of 
heart  had  cost,  answered: 

"Yes,  child,  everything." 

Then  he  took  down  the  big  Bible  and  together  they  read  the 
story  of  the  little  daughter  of  Jairus. 

"Let  us  pray,"  he  said  to  his  wife  when  they  were  preparing 
to  retire  that  night.    "I  see  my  error  and  I  confess  it.     'The  fool 
hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God'." 
Provo,  Utah 


The  Return  of  the  Jews 

To  Regain  Palestine  and  Rebuild  Their  Cities  and  Temple  is  the 

Dream  of  the  Chosen  People — Consolation  in 

Ancient  Prophetic  Promises 

By  E.  H.  Lund 


"Behold,  I  will  gather  them  out  of  all  countries,  whither  I  have  driven 
them  in  mine  anger,  and  in  my  fury,  and  in  great  wrath;  and  I  will  bring 
them  again  unto  this  place,  and  I  will  cause  them  to  dwell  safely:  and  they 
shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God." — Jer.  32:37. 

The  scriptures  foretell  that  in  the  latter  days  the  descend- 
ants of  ancient  Israel,  the  Jews,  shall  be  gathered  again  in  the 
land  of  their  fathers,  there  to  re-establish  their  abode,  rebuild 
their  temples,  and  again  be  a  prosperous  people  under  the  hand 
of  the  Lord.  Though  they  have  since  been  so  sorely  stricken  and 
hounded  about,  the  Hebrew  race  was  at  one  time  a  stable,  con- 
crete and  well-governed  nation.  But  they  became  perverse  and 
disobedient  to  the  commands  of  God,  and  he  withdrew  his  Spirit 
from  them,  till  finally  they  were  wholly  bereft  of  prophets  and 
seers  to  guide  them,  and  they  were  left  to  their  own  uninspired 
devisings  and  contrivings.  And  so  they  had  fallen  under  the  con- 
demnation and  chastisement  of  the  Lord,  in  that  he  permitted 
their  successive  bondages,  buffetings  and  persecutions  at  the 
hand  of  their  enemies,  finally  to  be  driven  and  scattered,  a 
homeless  people,  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Their  lands 
and  properties  confiscated,  themselves  banished  from  their  own 
country,  the  latter  has  remained  in  the  possession  of  an  alien 
people  until  the  present  time. 

Ancient  Israel  was  the  "chosen  people"  of  the  Lord. 
Through  their  appointed  leaders  and  prophets  he  made  known 
his  will,  and  as  long  as  they  gave  heed  to  counsel  and  rendered 
obedience  to  the  heavenly  commandments  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness attended  them  and  all  went  well.  But,  as  a  people,  they 
were  a  weak-spirited,  fickle  race,  ofttimes  stiff-necked  and  stub- 
born, requiring  to  be  governed  by  a  firm,  iron  hand. 

Such  were  the  traits  and  characteristics  of  the  Hebrew  race, 
whose  national  disruption  and  wide  dispersion  to  all  parts  of  the 
earth  and  the  certainty  of  their  eventual  regathering  in  the  land 
of  their  heritage  was  the  burden  of  concernment  of  most  of  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  literal  fulfilment  of  Jere- 
miah's prediction   respecting  Judah's   entire   desolation,   of   the 


774  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

I 

"scattering"  of  Israel  and  their  thorough  "sifting"  among  the 
various  nations,  need  not  be  here  discussed  at  length.  Suffice  to 
say  that  history  establishes  the  fact  of  their  final  destruction  as  a 
nation  by  the  Romans,  who  sold  "the  remnant"— perhaps  97,000 
all  told — into  slavery  in  the  cities  of  the  empire.  This  occurred 
some  600  years  after  the  term  of  their  Babylonish  captivity  (2 
Kings  24  and  25)  was  completed.  From  this  time  on  they  were 
taken  wherever  their  masters  pleased — "dispersed  over  all  the 
habitable  earth,"  says  Josephus.  In  fulfilment  of  the  word  of  the 
Lord  in  Deuteronomy  (28:64),  they  have  indeed  been  "scattered 
from  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other,"  and  have  "be- 
come a  proverb  and  a  byword  among  all  nations." 

In  any  age  whenever  the  Lord  had  a  people  on  earth,  estab- 
lished in  the  faith,  and  yielding  humble  obedience  to  his  laws 
and  statutes,  the  privileges  and  blessings  peculiar  to  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Holy  Priesthood  and  the  fulness  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  were  enjoyed  by  the  Saints.  There  is  no  warrant,  in  or 
out  of  scripture,  for  the  assumption  that  the  children  of  Israel 
was  an  exception  to  the  rule.  While  there  is  scant  reference  in 
the  Jewish  scriptures  relative  to  this  question,  the  supposition  is 
reasonable,  and  we  feel  convinced  of  the  fact,  that  the  gospel 
principles  in  their  fulness  were  preached  and  taught  to  ancient 
Israel  and,  perhaps  for  a  time,  at  least,  were  in  active  operation 
among  them  in  the  early  history  of  their  national  existence.  The 
few  references  that  might  be  cited  tend  strongly  to  sustain  and 
confirm  this  view.  However,  as  stated,  their  disaffection  and  de- 
viation from  the  commands  of  the  Lord  brought  upon  them 
the  Divine  wrath  and  displeasure. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Moses,  it  became  apparent  that  the 
people  could  not  "abide  the  higher  law."  In  the  revelations  of 
God  we  are  informed  that  "Moses  plainly  taught  the  children 
of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  and  sought  diligently  to  sanctify  his 
people  that  they  might  behold  the  face  of  God;  but  they  hard- 
ened their  hearts.  *  *  *  Therefore  he  took  Moses  out  of 
their  midst,  and  the  Holy  Priesthood  also"  (D.  and  C.  84:23-25). 
It  is  mentioned  by  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (4:2),  that 
the  gospel  had  been  preached  to  Israel  by  Moses.  But  the  "word 
preached  did  not  profit  them,  not  being  mixed  with  faith;" 
hence,  when  camped  about  Mt.  Horeb,  they  could  not  endure 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  besought  Moses  that  they  might 
not  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  nor  see  his  glory,  lest  they  should 
die.  For  their  instability  and  want  of  abiding  faith,  the  higher 
law  was  withdrawn  from  ancient  Israel,  while  the  lesser  Priest- 
hood remained  and  the  law  of  carnal  commandments  was  given 
them  (D.  and  C.  84:23-27). 

The  degrading  unrighteousness  and  hypocrisy  of  Israel,  as 
recorded  in  the  history  of  their  backslidings  and  disaffection,  cul- 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  JEWS  775 

minated,  in  the  meridian  of  time,  in  that  most  stupendous  of  na- 
tional errors,  their  rejection  of  the  Messiah,  and  finally,  sealing 
upon  their  heads  the  condemnation  of  an  outraged  God,  in  the 
iniquity  of  their  souls,  capped  the  climax  by  crucifying  their 
Lord,  the  Redeemer  of  the  world ! 

In  all  history  we  find  no  extenuating  or  mitigating  circum- 
stance for  the  egregious  act.  But  from  a  psychological  point  of 
view,  it  appears  that  the  Jews  were  the  only  nation  under  heaven 
possessing  the  peculiar  characteristics  and  necessary  mental 
qualities  which  placed  them  pre-eminently  before  all  other  peo- 
ples as  being  specially  "fitted"  for,  or  capable  of  lending  them- 
selves to,  the  accomplishment  of  that  part  of  the  program  in  the 
great  foreordained  plan  of  salvation  which  was  to  be  the  central 
fact  of  paramount  importance  in  all  history,  past,  present  and 
future,  the  pivotal  point  on  which  was  to  hang  the  eternal  des- 
tiny of  man — the  crucifixion,  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  mental  calibre  of  the  Hebrew  has  ever  been  a  problem  with 
psychologists.  While  we  may  not  delve  too  deeply  into  the  pre- 
existent  reasons  for  things,  it  is  within  the  bounds  of  possibility 
that  by  a  process  of  elimination  and  selection  there  were  chosen, 
out  of  the  hosts  of  heaven,  the  very  spirits  that  were  best  adapted 
— "mentally  qualified" — for  just  such  a  "mission"  as  the  Jews  in 
mortality  were  so  ready  to  accept  and  carry  out. 

As  a  nation,  they  were  a  people  of  uncertain  moods  and  con- 
tradictory impulses,  easily  led  and  susceptible  of  varied  influ- 
ences, at  times  indecisive  and  vacilating,  and  again  stubborn  and 
wilful,  for  such  is  the  reading  of  their  character  as  revealed  in 
the  history  of  their  past.  Without  the  guiding  mind,  a  Moses  or 
a  Joshua  to  lead  them,  they  were  "as  sheep  without  a  shepherd." 
And  the  Lord  knew  the  hearts  of  his  "chosen"  people  in  their 
mortal  sphere,  understood  perfectly  their  nature,  character  and 
disposition,  just  as  he  had  known  the  character  of  their  individ- 
ual spirits  before  they  were  tabernacled  in  the  flesh;  knew  what 
their  future  fleshly  tendencies  would  be;  knew  their  tempera- 
ment, and  that  as  a  class  their  peculiar  mentality  demanded  that 
specially  qualified  individuals  be  sent  among  them  to  be  their 
teachers  and  prophets.  Therefore,  an  All-wise  Providence  made 
yet  other  selection  of  choice  spirits  from  among  the  hosts  of 
heaven,  who  were  sent  at  stated  times  from  the  very  first  to 
instruct,  direct  and  guide  the  people  of  the  Lord  in  all  ages. 
Wise  men,  teachers  and  prophets,  inspired  of  God  to  fill  certain 
missions  in  the  earth,  were  without  doubt  foreordained  to  their 
special  calling.  A  number  of  scriptural  passages  bearing  on  the 
point,  and  confirming  this  view,  might  also  be  here  cited.  The 
Prophet  Jeremiah  was  such  a  chosen  spirit,  whose  intellectual 
qualifications  fitted  him,  both  as  to  time  and  place,  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  work  of  his  ministry  in  mortality.    We  ask 


776  l\IN«>\  I  Ml. VI   BR  \ 

the  reader  to  note  particularly  tin-  wording  in  the  two  quotations 

that  follow.    This  from  Jer.  I :  I.  5: 

"Then  the  word  of  tin-  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying.  Before  I 

formed  thee  in  the  belly  I  knew  thee;  and  before  thou  earnest 
forth  <>i't  of  the  womb  I  sanctified  thee,  and  I  ordained  thee  a 
prophet  unto  the  nation.-""  i  Compare  Isaiah  49:1,5;  the  case  of 
John  the  Baptist,  l.uke  1:13-17;  of  Paul,  Acts  9:15;  Eph.  1:4). 

Another  passage  is  from  the  revelation  of  God  to  Abraham: 
"Now  the  Lord  had  shown  unto  me,  Abraham,  the  intelligences 
that  wire  organized  before  the  world  was;  and  among  all  these 
were  many  of  the  noble  and  great  ones;  and  God  saw  these  souls 
that  the\  were  good,  and  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  he 
-aid.  These  I  will  make  my  rulers;  for  he  stood  among  those 
that  were  spirits,  and  he  saw  that  they  were  good;  and  he 
-aid  unto  me:  Abraham,  thou  art  one  of  them;  thou  wast  chosen 
before  thou  wast  born"  (Book  of  Abraham,  3:22,23.  Compare 
1  Nephi  12:7,  8;  P.  of  G.  P.,  Book  of  Moses  4:2;  Matt.  1:20,21). 
The  language  in  the  above  quotations  is  very  clear  and  needs 
no  comment.  Thus  are  we  given  to  know  how  the  house  of 
l-rael.  from  time  to  time,  witnessed  the  advent  in  their  midst  of 
nu  n  of  God,  inspired  to  lead,  teach  and  direct,  or  to  reprove,  pre- 
serving universal  respect  for  law  and  order,  good  government 
and  equity  among  the  Jews.  We  believe  the  same  principle  is 
operative  today  as  it  was  anciently  and  in  all  ages;  that  God 
sends  to  every  nation  and  people  certain  of  his  most  noble  and 
most  intellectual  sons  and  daughters  to  be  guides  and  teachers 
in  the  earth. 

But  especially  were  the  chosen  people  like  unto  children, 
ever  requiring  stern  leadership  and  supervision,  for  they  wore 
marvelously  inconstant  and  rebellious.  During  the  long  cycles 
of  time  the  Lord  had  been  extremely  patient  with  their  waver- 
ing and  almost  incorrigible  spirits,  forgiving  them  of  their  mal- 
practices and  their  ill-treatment  and  rejection  of  many  of  the 
prophets  whom  he  had  sent  among  them,  till  finally  the  accumu- 
lation of  iniquities  and  their  persistent  disobedience  to  his  com- 
mandments brought  upon  them  the  inevitable  displeasure  of 
God,  and  he  withdrew  his  Spirit  from  them;  so  that  at  about 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  before  the  birth  of  Christ 
there  came  a  cessation  of  prophets  and  seers  in  Israel.  We  can 
find  no  indication  that  there  were  any  further  direct  dealings  of 
the  Lord  with  his  people  or  any  people  after  the  time  of  Mal- 
achi,  the  "last  of  the  prophets,"  who  is  supposed  to  have  written 
his  prophecy  between  the  years  400  and  420  B.  C. ;  hence,  it 
appears  that  the  delegated  viceregency  of  God  among  the  Jews 
ended  with  the  passing  of  Malachi. 

Down  through  the  centuries  unto  the  meridian  of  time,  by 
their   own    perverseness,   the   Jewish    nation    had    become    well 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  JEWS  777 

schooled  and  prepared  to  perform  their  destined  part.  Their  pur- 
blind souls  prevented  them  from  recognizing  in  the  lowly  Naz- 
arene  the  mighty  Jehovah  of  their  fathers.  Such  are  the  facts, 
and,  bearing  in  mind  the  "pre-eminent  fitness"  mentioned  in 
the  foregoing,  we  will  now  cite  the  reader  to  a  remarkable  state- 
ment by  another  of  the  Lord's  servants  who  lived  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent  several  centuries  before  the  Savior's  birth.  The 
quotation  is  from  Jacob,  an  ancient  Nephite  prophet— himself 
a  Jew— whose  words  are  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  By 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Grost,  this  man  of  God  also  under- 
stood the  spirit,  the  heart  and  mind  tendencies  that  would  actu- 
ate the  people  of  his  own  race  as  touching  the  Son  of  God  when 
he  should  appear  among  them  in  the  flesh.  Nearly  six  hundred 
years  before  this  event  the  Prophet  Jacob,  addressing  the  Ne- 
phites,  said: 

"Wherefore,  as  I  said  unto  you,  it  must  needs  be  expedient 
that  Christ  (for  in  the  last  night  the  angel  spake  unto  me  that 
this  should  be  his  name)  should  come  among  the  Jews,  among 
those  who  are  the  more  wicked  part  of  the  world;  and  they 
shall  crucify  him:  For  thus  it  behooveth  our  God;  and  there  is 
none  other  nation  on  earth  that  would  crucify  their  God.  For 
should  the  mighty  miracles  be  wrought  among  other  nations, 
they  would  repent,  and  know  that  he  be  their  God;  but  because 
of  priestcrafts  and  iniquities,  they  at  Jerusalem  will  stiffen  their 
necks  against  him,  that  he  be  crucified"  (2  Nephi  10:3,  5). 

We  recall  the  circumstances  attending  the  haling  of  Christ  be- 
fore Pilate.  The  vehemently  voiced  accusations  of  the  chief  priests 
and  scribes,  mid  the  cries  of  the  rabble,  ail  thirsting  for  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  convinced  Pilate  of  the  folly  of  further  withstanding 
the  clamorous  demand  of  the  populace.  Against  his  own  better 
judgment  (for  he  had  "found  in  him  no  fault  at  all"),  perhaps 
partly  actuated  by  a  superstitious  fear  because  of  his  wife's 
dream,  he  gave  way  to  their  desire.  He  called  for  water  and 
washed  his  hands  before  the  multitude,  an  act  symbolizing  non- 
responsibility,  the  while  proclaiming:  "I  am  innocent  of  the 
blood  of  this  just  person:  see  ye  to  it.  Then  answered  all  the 
people  and  said,  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children"  (Matt. 
27:24,25).  Words  of  dread  portent;  and  little  did  the  Jews 
sense  the  awfulness  of  the  situation,  much  less  foresee  that  fu- 
ture history  would  bear  lurid  testimony  to  the  gruesome  fulfil- 
ment of  that  fateful  invocation! 

Thus  Edersheim  (Vol.  2,  p.  578),  in  forceful  and  incisive 
language,  comments  on  the  above  acknowledgment  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  death  of  Christ: 

"The  Mishna  tells  us  that,  after  the  solemn  washing  of  hands 
of  the  elders  and  their  disclaimer  of  guilt,  priests  responded  with 


778  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

this  prayer:  'Forgive  it  to  thy  people  Israel,  whom  thou  hast 
redeemed,  O  Lord,  and  lay  not  innocent  blood  upon  thy  people 
Israel.'  But  here,  in  answer  to  Pilate's  words,  came  back  that 
deep,  hoarse  cry:  'His  blood  be  upon  us,  and' — God  help  us! — 
'on  our  children.'  Some  thirty  years  later,  and  on  that  very 
spot,  was  judgment  pronounced  against  some  of  the  best  in  Jeru- 
salem; and  among  the  3,600  victims  of  the  governor's  fury,  of 
whom  not  a  few  were  scourged  and  crucified  right  over  against 
the  Pretorium,  were  many  of  the  noblest  of  the  citizens  of  Jeru- 
salem (Josephus,  Wars,  xiv,  chap.  8:9).  A  few  years  more,  and 
hundreds  of  crosses  bore  Jewish  mangled  bodies  within  sight  of 
Jerusalem.  And  still  have  these  wanderers  seemed  to  bear,  from 
century  to  century,  and  from  land  to  land,  that  burden  of  blood  ; 
and  still  does  it  seem  to  weigh  'on  us  and  on  our  children'." 

And  yet  we  read  of  the  sublime  condescension  of  God. 
Even  while  undergoing  extreme  physical  and  mental  agony  on 
the  cross,  the  dear  Lord  bore  in  his  heart  naught  but  good  will 
and  charity  toward  his  evil-minded  murderers.  None  but  a  very 
God  could  possess  qualities  such  as  dictated  the  words  of  Jesus, 
as  he  prayed  the  Father  to  "forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."  This  was  the  same  Holy  Being  who  spake  by 
the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  the  prophet  to  the  future  generations 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  the  descendants  of  Jacob,  saying:  "Re- 
turn, thou  backsliding  Israel,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not 
cause  mine  anger  to  fall  upon  you:  for  I  am  merciful,  saith  the 
Lord,  and  I  will  not  keep  anger  forever.  Only  acknowledge 
thine  iniquity,  that  thou  hast  transgressed  against  the  Lord  thy 
God"  (Jer.  3:12-13).  What  surpassing,  what  infinite  love!  His 
bowels  are  filled  with  mercy  and  compassion  for  his  erring  peo- 
ple. 

It  was  because  of  their  persistent  disregard  of  the  heavenly 
commands  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  Moses  came  to  be  ful- 
filled, saying:  "The  Lord  shall  scatter  you  among  the  nations, 
and  ye  shall  be  left  few  in  number  among  the  heathen,  whither 
the  Lord  shall  lead  you"  (Deut.  4:27).  While  in  Amos  9:8,  9, 
we  read  that  "I  will  not  utterly  destroy  the  house  of  Jacob,  saith 
the  Lord;  for,  lo,  I  will  command,  and  I  will  sift  the  house  of 
Israel  among  all  nations,  like  as  corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve."  They 
were  not  to  go  altogether  unpunished,  but  neither  were  the  en- 
emies of  Israel  to  be  permitted  to  utterly  destroy  the  house  of 
Jacob,  for  as  a  remnant  they  should  still  be  found  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  though  "few"  in  number.  And  surely  the 
Lord  has  "drawn  out  a  sword  after  them;  and  their  land  has 
become  desolate  and  their  cities  waste"  (Lev.  26:33;  see  also 
Deut.  28:64  and  Neh.  1:8,  9).  Great  afflictions  came  upon  them, 
in  captivities,  drivings  and  all  manner  of  persecutions;  and  so 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  JEWS  779 

was  Israel  verily  "rooted  out  of  the  land  given  to  their  fathers" 
(I  Kings  14:15;  see  also  Deut.  29:25,28). 

All  these  recorded  evils  have  come  upon  Israel  largely  in 
the  way  of  disciplinary  punishments,  and  form  a  sad  com- 
mentary on  the  constitutional  infirmity  of  the  Hebrew  race  as 
a  whole. 

(To  be  concluded  in  the  August  number) 


Lucy  Mack  Smith 


(Born  July  8,  1776.) 


The  bearer  of  an  honored  name, 
The  sharer  of  dear  Joseph's  fame, 
Oh,  fondly,  freely  may  we  love  her, 
Our  gifted,  true,  boy  prophet's  mother. 

There  shines  upon  her  mother  face 
A  calm  and  sweetly  earnest  grace, 
Heroic  as  her  whole  life's  story 
Of  toil  and  pain,  yet  more  of  glory. 

Oh,  sweeter  than  the  lovely  rose, 

When  spring-time's  southern  zephyr  blows, 

Her  cherished  sympathy  attended 

Her  sons  with  heaven's  blessings  blended. 

Celestial  truths  enriched  her  mind, 
So  fair,  so  constant,  and  refined, 
Effulgent  joy — ah  who  can  measure 
The  peace  crown  of  this  holy  treasure! 

Weep  tears  of  pity  on  her  pain — 
With  Joseph  dear  and  Hyrum  slain — 
Yet  this  her  soul-light  doth  not  smother, 
She  trusted  still,- — their  sainted  mother. 

With  soul  erect  as  one  who  knows, 
Serene  her  earth  life  found  its  close, — 
We  sing  her  praise,  for  oh,  we  love  her, 
With  growing  love,  our  Prophet's  Mother. 

Minnie  Iverson  Hodapp 
Huntington,  Utah 


The  Makers  of   Science 


By  Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoe,  President  of  the  University  of  Utah 


VIII — Joseph  Priestley 

The  study  of  the  process  of  combustion  led  to  discoveries 
upon  which  modern  chemistry  is  founded.  Many  brilliant 
minds  of  various  nationalities  took  part  in  these  studies  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  reserved  for 
the  Frenchman  Lavoisier  to  establish  that  when  a  thing  burns 
it  unites  with  something  found  in  the  air,  but  it  was  left  for 
Joseph  Priestley  to  determine  the  substance  in  the  air  which 
makes  burning  possible.  In  that  way  Priestley  became  one  of 
the  founders  of  modern  chemistry. 

Joseph  Priestley  was  born  near  Leeds,  Yorkshire,  March 
13,  1733.  He  became  a  poor  country  preacher,  of  an  indifferent 
eloquence,  but  possessed  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  intel- 
lects of  which  the  world  has  record. 

Priestley  made  his  livelihood  as  a  non-conformist  preacher, 
and  indeed  he  gave  much  deep  study  to  theology.  He  pub- 
lished numerous  books  and  treatises  upon  theological  questions, 
and  at  no  time  lost  interest  in  theological  matters.  He  was  a 
devout  believer  in  God  and  a  daily  reader  of  the  scriptures. 
During  his  last  days  he  frequently  spoke  of  the  comfort  and 
strength  that  had  come  to  him  because  of  his  habit  of  reading 
the  Bible  daily,  and  advised  his  family  and  friends  to  follow  his 
example. 

The  marvelously  receptive  and  flexible  mind  of  Priestley 
touched  on  all  matters  of  human  interest.  In  theology,  history, 
politics  and  science  he  was  active.  It  is  a  marvel  to  think  that 
one  man  could  accomplish  all  that  this  man  did  in  one  life- 
time. 

Science  always  attracted  Priestley.  In  1761,  when  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age,  he  was  given  a  tutorship  in  a  small  church 
academy,  and  here  for  six  years  he  pursued  with  such  meagre 
apparatus  as  was  at  his  command  the  study  of  chemistry  and 
electricity.  In  1766,  while  on  a  visit  to  London,  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  meet  Benjamin  Franklin.  This  great  American 
quickly  perceived  the  greatness  of  Priestley's  scientific  promise. 
As  a  result  of  Franklin's  encouragement,  Priestley  soon  there- 
after wrote  a  History  of  Electricity.     This  brought  him  fame 


THE  MAKERS  OF  SCIENCE  781 

and  contact  with  many  great  men,  though  he  still  made  his 
living  in  the  ministry. 

It  was  believed  in  those  days  that  air  was  an  elementary 
thing — in  fact  it  had  so  been  classed  from  the  days  of  the  Greek 
philosophers.  In  the  course  of  his  researches,  however,  Priest- 
ley came  to  the  conclusion  that  air  is  not  elementary,  but  a  mix- 
ture of  substances.  This  thought  led  him  to  the  discovery  by 
which  he  will  always  be  remembered. 

On  the  first  of  August,  1774,  he  obtained  in  his  studies  a 
gas  that  he  had  not  before  encountered  and  with  very  sur- 
prising properties.  A  lighted  candle  placed  in  this  gas  burned 
with  a  remarkably  vigorous  flame,  and  a  piece  of  red-hot  wood 
sparkled  in  it  and  was  consumed  very  fast.  Finally  he  found 
that  mice  and  insects  lived  nearly  five  times  as  long  in  this  gas 
as  in  an  equal  volume  of  air.  To  complete  the  test,  Priestly 
breathed  some  of  the  gas  and  he  relates  that  he  fancied  his 
breathing  peculiarly  light  and  easy  for  some  time  afterwards. 

He  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  gas  is  found  in 
the  atmosphere,  and  is  the  ingredient  which  enables  air  to  sup- 
port combustion  and  animal  life. 

The  gas  thus  discovered  by  Priestley  was,  of  course,  oxygen, 
which  forms  about  one-fifth  of  the  atmosphere.  It  is  now  the 
knowledge  of  everyone  that  when  anything  burns  it  unites  with 
the  oxygen  in  the  air.  In  breathing,  the  oxygen  is  taken  up  by 
the  blood  and  the  impurities  burned  and  the  carbonic  acid  gas 
which  is  formed  is  breathed  out.  It  is  the  oxygen  mixed  with 
the  water  that  enables  fish  to  live  in  water.  Frequently,  in  seri- 
ous cases  of  sickness,  pure  oxygen  is  given  the  patient  to  stimu- 
late the  bodily  activities. 

The  discovery  of  the  element  oxygen  by  Priestley  and  of 
the  nature  of  combustion  by  Lavoisier,  made  possible  a  new 
understanding  of  chemistry  and  physiology.  Though  these  two 
men  discovered  what  seems  to  us  most  elementary  truths,  it  is 
by  the  possession  of  these  truths  that  much  scientific  progress 
has  been  made  possible. 

Priestley  made  many  other  scientific  discoveries  of  note; 
in  fact,  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  gave  some  time  to  the  study 
of  science. 

Priestley  was  of  a  democratic  turn  of  mind.  The  repub- 
lican form  of  government  appealed  to  him.  This  was  not  wholly 
pleasing  to  the  English  people.  When  the  Bastile  in  Paris  fell, 
in  1791,  a  fanatical  mob,  knowing  Priestley's  sympathy  for  the 
J«Vr.Tnch  revolutionists,  attacked  and  burned  his  house  and 
church,  and  destroyed  his  papers  and  scientific  instruments. 
Priestley  escaped,  but  three  years  later  removed  to  the  United 
States,  where  he  settled  at  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania. 


;p? 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Much  honor  was  shown  him  in  America,  ami  he  did  much 
to  stimulate  scientific  research  in  this  country.  He  was  offered 
the  professorship  of  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  he  declined  because  of  private  reasons. 

Priestley,  though  he  made  many  enemies  by  his  fearless, 
controversial  writings,  especially  within  the  field  of  theology, 
was  a  sweet-spirited  gentleman,  who  loved  truth  and  sought  for 
it  all  his  days.  In  the  face  of  untold  difficulties  he  rendered 
•rreal  service  to  mankind,  and  made  secure  for  himself  a  place 
among  the  makers  of  science.  He  died  in  his  Pennsylvania 
home,  on  February  6,  1804. 


'  i  U  u 


■.- 


*    aikr-v 


A  SCENE  IN  THE  RED  CROSS  PAGEANT,  MAY  21,  1918, 


When  2,000  Red  Cross  workers  in  uniform  paraded  the  streets  of  Salt  Lake 
City.  The  great  procession  extended  eight  blocks,  both  sides  of  the  streets 
heing  lined  the  whole  distance  by  thousands  of  sympathetic,  admiring  and 
cheering  citizens.  Besides  the  Red  Cross  workers,  there  were  347  Belgian 
soldiers  from  Russia,  on  their  way  to  the  front,  accompanied  by  British, 
French  and  American  escorts,  local  G.  A.  R.  and  state  officials,  school  cadets 
and  hoys"  working  reserves.  The  Red  Cross  drive  opened  on  Monday,  May 
21,  and  by  the  end  of  the  week  more  than  the  required  amount  for  the  state, 
$500,000,  had  been  subscribed.  The  subscription  later  reached  the  sum  of 
$515,000.  A  great  flag  was  carried  by  Red  Cross  workers  upon  which  was 
thrown  by  the  admiring  crowd,  $1,096.29,  upon  a  similar  Moose  flag, 
$1,035.85,  and  upon  a  Z.  C.  M.  I.  flag,  gathering  the  gleanings,  $100.83,  mak- 
ing a  total  street  donation  of  over  $2,200. 


Outlines  for  Scout  Workers 


XXVI — The  Ring-billed  Gull 


By  Delbert  W.  Parratt,  B.  S. 


"Those  who  rest  on  eider  down, 

Taking  borrowed  ease, 
"Owe  a  tribute  of  sweet  care 

To  the  wild  wings  of  the  seas." 

1.  Why  is  the  ring-billed  gulls  so  named? 

2.  In  what  parts  of  our  country  is  this  gull  found?     Does  it  inhabit 
our  valley?     If  so,  what  part? 

3.  Name  another   gull  often  found  here   and  compare   the   ring-billed 
with  it. 

4.  Note  size  and  shape  of  the  ring-billed  gull's  body. 

5.  What  are  the  characteristic  markings  of  this  gull? 

6.  Where  and  of  what  is  the  nest  made? 

7.  Tell  of  size,  color,  and  number  of  eggs. 

8.  Upon  what  does  the  gull  subsist  and  how  does  it  procure  its  food? 

9.  Do  the  gulls  remain  with  us  during  the  winter?     If  not,  where  do 
they   go? 

10.     Should  they  be  protected?     Why? 

Handy  Material 

The  billows  rolled  and  plunged  upon  the  sand, 
The  circling  sea-gull  swept  beyond  his  ken, 
And  from  the  parting  cloudrack  now  and  then 
Flashed  the  red  sunset  over  sea  and  land. — Longfellow. 


784  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

The  ring-billed  gull  is  named  from  the  black  ring  which 
encircles  its  bill.  It  and  the  California  are  the  most  common 
gulls  of  our  valley.  The  ring-billed  is  found  in  various  parts  of 
North  America  and,  strange  to  say,  is  more  common,  especially 
during  summer  seasons,  in  the  interior  than  along  the  sea  coast. 
Our  ring-bill,  like  the  California  gull,  spends  its  winter  months 
along  the  Pacific  coast  but  in  mid-spring  makes  eastward  to  fav- 
orite breeding  grounds  on  Hat  and  Gunnison  Islands  in  Great 
Salt  Lake. 

It  measures  from  eighteen  to  twenty  inches  in  length,  thus 
being  slightly  smaller  than  the  California  gull.  Its  boat-shaped 
body  lends  itself  easily  to  floating  upon  water  and  flying  through 
air.  A  mantle  of  deep  pearl  gray  covers  the  upper  parts  of  the 
ring-billed  gull.  Its  wings  are  black,  tipped  with  white.  The 
bill  is  yellowish  with  a  band  of  black  and  is  somewhat  hooked 
suitable  for  taking  animal  food.  The  legs  and  feet  are  yellow, 
sometimes  tinged  with  green.  Its  eyes  are  silver  gray  surround- 
ed by  scarlet.  In  winter  the  head  and  nape  are  spotted  with 
pale  dusk.  The  young  are  mottled  white  and  dusky,  with  a 
dark  tint  varied  with  pale  buff  prevailing  on  the  upper  parts  and 
white  covering  the  lower  parts.  The  young  gulls  when  hatched 
are  covered  with  downy  feathers  and  run  about  soon  after  birth. 

The  ring-billed,  like  the  California,  builds  its  nest  on  the 
bare  ground  of  the  islands  of  our  Inland  Sea.  The  nest  is  made 
of  a  limited  quantity  of  sticks  and  coarse  grasses  matted  in  guano. 
The  shallow  affair  contains  two  or  else  three  pale  or  dark  buff 
eggs,  profusely  marked  with  several  shades  of  brown  or  black. 

The  gull's  food  consists  of  worms,  beetles,  grasshoppers, 
crickets,  field  mice,  small  fish,  and  unprotected  eggs  of  white 
pelicans  so  abundant  upon  Hat  Island.  He  is  a  scavenger  and 
often  frequents  the  garbage  piles  west  of  our  city.  Insects  are 
easily  captured  by  him  both  on  the  ground  and  in  the  air. 

One  rarely  sees  a  gull  alone.  Usually  a  loose  flock  soars  or 
floats  in  the  air,  apparently  idle,  but  in  reality  keeping  their 
marvelously  sharp  eyes  on  the  constant  lookout  for  morsels  of 
food  in  the  water  or  on  the  ground  below. 

While  food  is  plentiful  and  climate  agreeable,  the  gulls  re- 
main in  our  valley,  but  when  conditions  change  they  take  wing 
for  their  winter  homes  along  the  balmy  coasts  of  California. 

In  1848  the  sea-gulls  proved  their  worth  to  the  sturdy  pio- 
neers of  Utah.  It  was  then  that  the  vast  hordes  of  black  crickets 
spread  from  the  north  bench  lands  of  Salt  Lake  Valley  down 
over  the  promising  fields  of  young  grain  and  devoured  every 
blade,  leaf,  and  stem  in  their  devastating  path,  and  filled  the 
once  hopeful  settlers  with  fearful  alarm.  "Men,  women,  and 
children,"  says  Bancroft,  "turned  out  en  masse  to  combat  the 


OUTLINES  FOR  SCOUT  WORKERS  785 

pest,  driving  them  into  ditches  or  upon  piles  of  reeds,  which 
they  would  set  on  fire,  striving  in  every  way,  until  strength  was 
exhausted,  to  beat  back  the  devouring  host.  But  in  vain  they 
toiled;  in  vain  they  prayed.  *  *  *  *  While  the  people 
stood  with  stricken  hearts  watching  the  destruction  of  their 
crops,  out  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  came  the  gulls — myriads  of 
these  strange,  snow-white  birds,  with  wild  cries — winging  their 
way.  A  new  fear  arose  in  the  minds  of  the  people  as  they  saw 
these  birds  settling  down  upon  their  fields — a  fear  that  another 
foe  had  come  to  complete  the  destruction  of  their  growing  grain. 
What  was  their  joy  can  hardly  be  told,  when  they  saw  these 
gulls  'pounce  upon  the  black  crickets'  and  begin  to  gorge  them- 
selves, so  ravenously  indeed,  that  many  of  the  birds,  over-stuffed 
by  rapid  and  heavy  feeding,  would  regurgitate  their  spoil  and 
again  go  on  devouring.  This  fact  might  seem  incredible  were  it 
not  amply  proved  by  the  testimony  of  hundreds  of  eye-witnesses, 
as  well  as  by  the  nature  of  the  bird  itself,  which,  as  stated  in 
another  article  herein,  has  the  habit  of  regurgitating  its  food 
after  carrying  it  to  the  barren  islands  of  the  Salt  Lake  to  feed  its 
young.  The  people  gazed  in  amazement  upon  the  birds  at  their 
beneficent  work.  No  wonder  it  seemed  to  them  a  sheer  miracle 
from  heaven — a  direct  and  convincing  answer  to  their  prayers." 
Cavendish  W.  Cannon  tells  this  beautiful  story  in  the  fol- 
lowing suggestive  verses: 

The  Gull 

Planting 

Here  in  this  refuge  land 
The  stalwart  resting  band 

The  seed  has  cast. 
Summer  has  come  again, 
See  how  the  ripening  grain 
Nurtured  by  sun  and  rain 

Grows  thick  and  fast! 

The  Crickets 

Down  in  the  valley  reigns  drear  desolation, 
Fields,  ere  the  harvest,  are  barren  and  sere; 

Insects  in  clouds  seem  to  threaten  starvation, 
Hath  God  forgotten  the  bold  pioneer? 

Deliverance 

Lo,  in  the  summer  sky, 
Wheeling  their  flight  on  high, 

Sea  gulls  appear. 
Safe  is  thy  scanty  bread; 
Vanquished,  the  foe  has  fled, 
God  watches  over-head, 

True   pioneer ! 


786  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

As  an  outgrowth  of  their  signal  service  in  ridding  the  fields 
of  threatening  crickets  the  gulls  have  long  since  enjoyed  thor- 
ough protection  by  legal  measures  and  public  sentiment  of  our 
state.  This,  however,  has  not  been  the  fortune  befalling  the 
"white  wings"  in  many  other  states.  In  spite  of  their  usefulness 
great  numbers  have  been  slaughtered  for  the  millinery  trade, 
Thousands  have  been  killed  during  the  breeding  season  with  the 
result  that  their  helpless  young  have  suffered  death  by  slow, 
cruel  starvation.  There  are  now  thirty-nine  states  besides  Utah 
in  which  gulls  are  protected  the  year  round.  Louisiana  alone 
offers  protection  during  only  the  breeding  season,  February  1  to 
August  1,  while  five  states  offer  no  legal  protection  whatsoever. 
These  states  are  Idaho,  Nevada,  Montana,  Arizona,  and  New 
Mexico.  California  prohibits  the  sale  of  gull's  plumage  for  mil- 
linery purposes.  This  law  went  into  effect  in  1895  and  since 
then  a  number  of  other  states  have  enacted  like  measures.  New 
York  has  even  gone  to  far  as  to  prohibit  the  sale  and  possession 
of  any  sort  of  plumage  belonging  to  the  gull  family. 

In  many  states  private  reservations  for  the  gulls  have  been 
formed,  the  money  for  these  having  been  furnished  by  private 
subscription.  As  a  result  of  this  movement  there  is  now  scarcely 
a  flock  of  gulls  on  the  entire  Atlantic  coast  from  Maine  to  Florida 
but  what  might  feel  reasonably  safe  during  the  breeding  season. 
In  consequence  the  gulls  which  had  become  almost  extinct  are 
now  becoming  common  again. 


Strength  to  be  a  Helper 

I  would  not  sit  with  folded  hands, 

While  others  do  life's  work; 
I  would  not  play  the  coward, 

The  sluggard  nor  the  shirk. 

I  would  rather  ease  the  burden 

That  weighs  another  down; 
I  would  rather  be  a  lifter 

Than  wear  a  sovereign's  crown. 

For  there's  joyousness  in  labor 

That  makes  the  bosom  swell, 
A  wondrous  compensation 

For  the  work  that's  done  full  well. 

Then  help  me,  Lord,  to  swerve  not 
From  the  path  my  feet  should  tread; 

Give  me  strength  to  be  a  helper, 
Till  the  spark  of  life  be  fled. 

Grace  Ingles  Frost 


Home  Defense  Song 

For  the  M.  I.  A.  "Home  Guards." 


Full  Choi  us  in  Unison. 
March  time. 


Words  and  Music  by  Evan  Stephens. 


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BrtVttA  Official  Photograph.     ©  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 

FRENCH  REFUGEES,  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SOMEWHERE 

Forced  to  seek  shelter  behind  the  British  lines  when  the  first  attack 
of  the  German  drive  was  launched.  Many  less  fortunate  were  compelled 
to  leave  all  their  possessions  behind,  driven  from  home  by  war.  At  times 
one  sees  wagons  on  the  roads,  piled  high  with  movable  effects.  The  men— 
always  old  or  crippled  or  too  young— are  silent  and  morose.  The  women 
do  not  weep,  but  sit  high  throned  among  their  pathetic  goods,  holding 
babies  in  their  patient  arms,  and  stare  forward  toward  a  future  that  must 
seem  compact  of  misery. 


The  Sick  are  Healed — Vital  Differences 


By  Joseph  A.  West 


In  Los  Angeles,  recently,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  asso- 
ciated with  the  elders  of  that  Conference  for  a  little  season.  I 
met  with  some  peculiarly  interesting  experiences,  one  of  which 
I  will  relate  to  the  readers  of  the  Era: 

On  one  occasion  I  was  trying  again  to  interest  a  certain  good 
lady,  who  had  previously  been  a  member  of  our  Church,  but 
who  had  later  become  a  member  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventists, 
in  the  principles  of  the  gospel;  but  she  resisted  my  efforts  with 
the  statements  that  her  church  taught  the  same  things  that  ours 
did,  and  in  addition  was  the  only  one  that  "observed  the  Sab- 
bath day  to  keep  it  holy,"  for  all  others  worshiped  on  the  first 
instead  of  the  last  day  of  the  week.  "Besides,"  said  she,  "the 
signs  actually  follow  the  believers  in  our  church  as  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles,  especially  in  the  matter  of  the  sick  being  healed, 
through  the  anointing  with  oil  and  the  prayer  of  faith."  As  evi- 
dence of  this,  I  was  invited  to  attend  the  services  of  a  Dr.  Yoakum 
where  she  said  veritable  pentecostal  times  were  enjoyed  every 
Sunday  afternoon. 

The  meetings  referred  to  were  held  in  what  was  known  as 
the  Tabernacle,  a  large  frame  building  with  a  saw-dust  floor  and 
backless  seats.  But  notwithstanding  these  unusual  conditions, 
quite  a  large  congregation  was  assembled.  The  doctor  seemed 
to  be  a  very  plain  man,  far  from  eloquent,  though  very  earnest 
in  his  work,  and  his  audience  was  exceedingly  responsive  to 
every  word  he  said. 

After  prayer,  a  song  service  of  considerable  length  was  held 
which  gradually  grew  in  religious  fervor  until  the  psychological 
moment  for  testimony  arrived,  when  the  doctor  asked  those  who 
had  been  healed  to  stand  up  and  boldly  testify  of  the  same.  The 
opportunity  thus  given  was  seized  upon  with  great  alacrity,  and 
for  an  hour  or  more  varied  testimonies  of  miraculous  healings 
were  given,  amidst  such  outbursts  of  religious  enthusiasm  as  I 
had  never  before  witnessed.  As  proof  of  these  healings  having 
actually  taken  place,  great  numbers  of  discarded  crutches  and 
invalid  chairs  were  pointed  to  in  different  parts  of  the  hall. 
Even  the  drunkard  had  been  cured  of  his  evil  habits,  and  the 
smoker  of  his  tobacco,  as  was  also  shown  by  the  many  pipes 
that  were  suspended  above  the  rostrum. 

In  connection  with  these  testimonies,  one  man  related  the 


THE    SICK    ARE    HEALED— VITAL    DIFFERENCES  791 

incidents  of  his  early  conversion  to  Christianity.  He  was  con- 
vulsed with  laughter  during  his  talk,  as  were  also  many  of  the 
congregation;  although  there  was  nothing  connected  with  what 
he  said  that  was  laughable,  except  his  own  ludicrous  manner. 
When  I  asked  why  such  a  scene  was  permitted  in  a  religious 
gathering  on  the  Sabbath  day,  I  was  told  that  this  was  one  of 
the  Usual  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  are  told  in  the 
Scriptures,  however,  that  "much  laughter  is  displeasing  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord." 

After  enough  had  been  said  which  was  intended  to  convince 
those  present  that  there  must  be  some  miraculous  power  back  of 
the  doctor  and  his  associates,  all  who  wished  to  be  healed  were 
asked  to  come  forward  and  kneel  upon  a  rude  bench  encircling 
the  stand.  One  of  the  attendants  now  took  a  bottle  of  oil  and 
with  the  cork  made  a  cross  in  the  forehead  of  all  thus  assem- 
bled, while  the  doctor  and  his  disciples  placed  their  hands  upon 
them  and  engaged  in  silent  prayer. 

Upon  asking  the  lady  who  accompanied  me  how  her  church 
could  take  credit  for  what  Dr.  Yoakum  was  doing,  when  he  was 
not  a  member  of  it,  she  replied  that  his  work  was  conducted 
in  the  interest  of  all  the  churches,  and  that  it  was  therefore 
supported  and  encouraged  by  them.  His  congregation  was  made 
up  of  people  of  many  creeds  and  though  having  no  especial 
church  affiliations  he  gathered  people  from  the  pitfalls  of  vice 
in  that  great  city,  this  being  one  of  his  activities,  and  allows 
them  to  join  any  church  for  which  they  might  have  prefer- 
ence. In  taking  up  the  collection,  the  doctor  stated  that  in  addi- 
tion to  what  we  had  witnessed,  he  was  serving  950  meals  that  day 
to  the  poor,  for  many  of  whom  he  was  also  furnishing  clothing 
and  homes.  Near  by,  we  saw  his  once  rather  pretentious  man- 
sion that  he  had  voluntarily  given  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the 
destitute  and  sin-stained  souls  of  that  city. 

He  claimed  to  be  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Savior, 
not  only  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  but  in  actually 
healing  their  moral  and  physical  infirmities;  and  in  addition, 
administering  to  their  temporal  wants.  That  he  is  doing  a  great 
charitable  and  philanthropic  work  none  can  deny;  and  so  far 
as  I  could  see,  he  is  taking  no  particular  honor  to  himself,  but 
is  giving  God  the  glory. 

Claiming,  as  we  do,  to  be  the  only  true  Church  of  Christ, 
endowed  with  divine  authority,  may  we  not  with  propriety 
refer, in  this  connection, to  Luke  9:49,  50,  which  reads  as  follows: 
"And  John  answered  and  said,  Master,  we  saw  one  casting  out 
devils  in  thy  name;  and  we  forbad  him,  because  he  followeth  not 
with  us.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Forbid  him  not;  for  he  that  is 
not  against  us  is  for  us." 


792  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

The  Christian  world,  since  the  Savior's  time,  has  witnessed 
many  men  who  have  gone  about  doing  good  in  his  name,  and 
surely  they  will  receive  their  reward,  for  they  have  been  living 
up  to  the  best  light  they  possessed. 

Even  the  Catholic  church,  which  Protestants  in  general,  and 
the  Seventh-day  Adventists  in  particular,  denounce  as  the 
"whore  of  all  the  earth,"  did  an  immeasurable  amount  of  good 
in  preserving  to  us  the  scriptures  and  supplementing  the  work 
of  the  apostles  by  teaching  "Christ  and  him  crucified,"  to  the 
great  mass  of  heathen  humanity  in  the  old  Roman  Empire,  who 
could  no  more  be  suddenly  converted  from  their  idolatrous  no- 
tions than  the  Israelites  from  the  idolatry  of  the  Egyptians,  even 
though  the  Lord  had  so  wonderfully  parted  the  Red  Sea  for 
their  deliverance. 

When  in  Rome  I  saw  the  Pantheon,  the  great  heathen  tem- 
ple in  which  people  from  the  uttermost  confines  of  the  Roman 
Empire  have  worshiped  at  the  shrines  of  their  native  heathen 
deities.  When  the  Catholic  church  gained  supreme  power  and 
replaced  these  heathen  deities  with  the  statues  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  and  the  patron  Saints  of  the  Christian  era,  it  im- 
planted ii  the  hearts  of  those  heathens,  a  reverence  for  and  be- 
lief in  th<  ir  teachings  that  has  made  the  preaching  of  the  true 
gospel  a  comparatively  easy  task  ever  since.  As  proof  of  this, 
compare  1.he  success  of  our  work  among  the  Christian  nations 
with  that  among  the  heathens.  We  find  that  truth  and  error  have 
been  blended,  so  to  speak,  all  down  the  ages;  but  the  almighty 
truth  has  alone  been  able  to  withstand  the  mutations  of  time. 

The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  restored  with  power  and  di- 
vine authority  to  Joseph  Smith,  embraces  all  truth  to  be  found 
in  all  the  churches  of  the  world,  and  besides  it  is  the  source  of 
vast  treasures  of  light  and  truth  of  which  these  churches  have 
little  conception.  Many  of  these  truths  have  been  preached  by 
the  elders  of  our  Church  for  eighty-eight  years  and  they  are 
gradually  revolutionizing  modern  religious  thought  and  the- 
ories, and  placing  men  in  a  mental  attitude  in  which  they  are 
unconsciously  absorbing  much  of  the  gospel  as  we  understand  it. 

I  look  for  the  time  to  come  when  the  main  difference  be- 
tween them  and  us  will  be  divine  authority,  and  that,  mark  you, 
is  vital.  Church  organization,  salvation  for  the  dead,  and  tem- 
ple ordinances  and  work,  may  also  be  classed  as  fundamental 
differences. 
Brigham  City,  Utah 


The  Grizzly  of  the  Idaho  Woods* 


By  Claude  T.  Barnes 


Even  now  as  I  recall  the  dreadful  experience  that  befell  me 
during  my  sojourn  in  that  thickly  timbered  district  which  lies 
immediately  west  of  Yellowstone  National  Park,  I  shudder  at  the 
thought  that  only  by  the  merest  chance  I  survive  to  tell  the  story. 
To  me  nature  presents  an  endless  array  of  interesting  detail; 
and  I  may  as  well  state  in  the  begining  that  it  was  this  eagerness 
for  observation  that  led  me  into  the  woods  alone  and  into  an 
indifferent  attitude  toward  all  save  the  beauty  of  my  environs. 

It  was  a  cloudy  afternoon  in  the  latter  part  of  July  when 
I  left  my  friends  fishing  in  the  placid  waters  of  the  upper  Snake 
river,  beside  which  we  had  made  our  camp,  and  struck  off  into 
the  dense  forests  of  lodge  pole  pines.  Interspersed  among  the 
pines  were  balsams  and  other  evergreens,  and  in  the  dry  gulches 
that  sloped  imperceptibly  towards  the  river  there  appeared 
frequently  dense  growths  of  quaking  aspen,  the  latter  being 
usually  knarled,  twisted  or  bent  by  the  heavy  snow  blankets 
of  many  winters.  One  unaccustomed  to  lodge  pole  pines  can 
scarcely  appreciate  their  density.  In  places  they  appeared  in 
patches  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across,  each  tree  being  about  the 
thickness  of  one's  wrist  and  actually  but  a  few  inches  from  its 
neighbor.  I  had  great  difficulty  in  penetrating  such  groves,  for 
aside  from  the  necessity  of  bending  each  tree  from  my  path  and 
the  inconvenience  of  walking  in  a  shower  of  pollen,  my  range  of 
vision  comprised  a  radius  of  a  dozen  yards  or  more  and  a  de- 
lusive portion  of  the  sky  above.  Soon  I  discovered  that  to  facili- 
tate my  progress  I  had  unconsciously  sought  bear  trails  through 
the  timber,  the  occasional  dry  excrementa  that  I  chanced  upon 
inciting  little  comment,  as  I  knew  that  bears  were  numerous 
throughout  all  that  region. 

Not  all  of  the  pines  were  so  thick,  and  frequently  I  issued 
forth  upon  charming,  grassy  meadows  fringed  with  monarchs 
of  the  woods  of  various  sizes.  It  was  while  sitting  upon  the 
dried  trunk  of  some  ancient  conifer  that  had  been  prostrated 
across  the  green,  that  I  enjoyed  to  the  fullest  the  aroma,  the 
beauty  and  the  awesome  silence  of  the  woods. 

I  seemed  to  be  resting  in  a  bed  of  flowers.  Purple  lupines, 
crimson  Indian  paint  brushes,  vari-colored  columbines,  deep 
blue  fringed   gentians,   and   striking  sulphur  flowers   appeared 


*By  permission  of  Outers-Recreation. 


794  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

as  if  placed  there  for  my  sole  delight,  while  lungworts,  violets 
and  balsams  gave  a  delightful  redolence  to  the  air. 

Frequently  I  stopped  to  place  some  plant  or  blossom  in  a 
little  book  which  I  carried  in  my  hunting  coat;  and  I  noted  at 
such  times  that  the  silence  of  the  woods  was  not  complete.  In- 
deed various  voices  and  sounds  came  through  the  apparent  still- 
ness. Richardson  red  squirrels  scolded  at  me  persistently; 
several  times  Rocky  mountain  flying  squirrels  noisily  sounded 
their  alarm  at  my  presence;  and  once  I  heard  the  loud  clear 
whistles  of  a  pair  of  yellow  woodchucks  (M.  flaviventer ) .  Fre- 
quently I  listened  to  the  pleasing  "chivee,  chivee-chivee-ah, 
chivee"  of  the  Audubon  warbler,  once  discovering  a  nest  in  a 
pine  tree  beside  which  the  tame  songster  gave  rare  opportunity 
for  me  to  observe  with  the  glasses  its  newly  acquired  black  breast 
patches.  The  strident  notes  of  the  Rocky  mountain  jay,  and  the 
sharp  call  of  the  red-shafted  flicker  likewise  emphasized  the 
"silence"  of  the  woods.  Rubbing  pines  squeaked  with  every 
breeze  and  even  when  there  was  no  audible  sound  my  fancy 
caught  that  distant,  indescribable  moan,  the  rather  ominous 
fairy-whisper  or  "voice"  of  the  woods. 

I  carried  a  Springfield  rifle,  and,  the  evening  being  chill,  I 
wore  a  thick  chamois  vest  of  the  Guitterman  type  in  addition 
to  a  heavy  Gem  hunting  coat.  I  must  have  walked  several  miles 
before  my  heavy  clothing  became  comfortable;  and  it  was  due 
to  this  that  I  suddenly  appreciated  that  I  must  be  quite  a  dis- 
tance from  camp,  that  evening  was  approaching  and  that  I  would 
better  return.  Twice  before,  in  different  years,  I  had  ventured 
into  these  perplexing  woods  alone,  and  had  become  so  engrossed 
with  the  multitudinous  attractions  of  nature  that  I  had  been  for 
a  time  lost,  once  not  reaching  camp  until  long  after  darkness 
had  fallen.  Though  many  hunters  have  lost  their  way  and 
frozen  to  death  while  hunting  elk  in  the  very  woods  of  which 
I  speak,  this  knowledge  did  not  startle  me,  as  in  summer  there 
is  more  inconvenience  and  annoyance  than  danger  in  being  com- 
pelled to  spend  the  night  alone  beneath  some  whispering  con- 
ifer. I  had  not  seen  the  sun  at  all  that  afternoon,  and  as  my  mean- 
derings  had  taken  a  desultory  course  I  was  annoyed  when,  up- 
on surveying  the  monotonous  timber  and  equally  confusing 
sky,  to  discover  that  I  was  not  exactly  sure  which  direction  to 
proceed.  I  carefully  observed  the  lay  of  the  ground  and  had 
no  little  difficulty  in  determining  the  direction  of  water  flow  of 
the  now  grassy  little  hollow  I  was  in.  Satisfying  myself,  how 
ever,  I  proceeded  in  the  hopes  that  whatever  led  me  towards 
the  river  must  eventually  take  me  towards  camp. 

I  at  last  came  upon  a  rather  bare  spot  in  the  midst  of  which 
was   a  very  thick  patch  of  young  balsams   intermingled   with 


THE  GRIZZLY  OF  THE  IDAHO  WOODS  795 

pine  trees  about  a  foot  in  diameter.  I  could  not  see  through  the 
balsams,  and  in  going  around  them  I  stopped  for  a  moment  to 
examine  a  thistle-like  plant  which  I  recognized  as  the  night- 
blooming  mentzelia.  I  was  pleased  that  its  gleaming  white 
flowers  were  already  begining  to  open,  for  twilight  was  nearly 
upon  me.  I  stopped  to  get  a  whiff  of  its  delightful,  heavy  per- 
fume. 

Upon  looking  up  again  I  was  startled  to  see  a  bear  cub 
about  twenty-five  yards  away  walking  around  the  balsams  direct- 
ly across  my  path.  It  did  not  see  me,  so,  aiming  rather  low,  as 
I  habitually  did  when  shooting  close  with  the  Springfield,  I  fired. 
It  had  not  occurred  to  me  for  the  moment  that  the  she-bear  would 
likely  not  be  far  off;  but  I  had  no  sooner  shot  than  the  little 
fellow  bit  at  his  side  and  set  up  a  squealing  that  could  have 
been  heard  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Simultaneously  there  came 
a  "woof"  from  behind  it  and  I  scarcely  had  time  to  throw  in  a 
second  cartridge  before  there  loomed  up  before  me  what  then 
appeared  to  be  the  largest  monster  I  had  ever  seen  loose.  It 
looked  as  big  as  a  cow ;  and  its  size,  its  head  and  its  color,  quick- 
ly told  me  that  it  was  a  she-grizzly.  For  a  second  I  was  aghast 
and  when  she  stood  up  her  great  claws  looked  longer  than  the 
fingers  of  a  man.  I  know  somewhat  of  the  marvelous  tenacity 
of  the  grizzly,  and  as  it  suddenly  dawned  upon  me  that  at  this 
short  distance  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  stop  the  brute  no 
matter  where  I  hit  her,  a  horrible  sense  of  my  extreme  peril 
went  all  over  me.  Strange  to  say  my  first  flush  was  succeeded 
by  a  calmness  which  I  believe  comes  to  most  men  when  act- 
ually confronted  with  the  jaws  of  death. 

I  shot  at  her  heart  while  she  yet  stood  towering  before  me; 
but  almost  instantly  thereafter  she  came  at  me  on  all  fours  with 
short,  quick  bounds  and  grunts,  and  with  her  great  white  teeth 
gleaming  with  hideous  anger.  I  reloaded  as  quickly  as  I  could 
and  fired  into  her  face.  She  was  right  on  me;  and  as  I  turned 
and  stopped  to  avoid  the  swipe  of  her  great  claws  she  grabbed 
the  gun  barrel  with  her  teeth,  knocked  me  down  with  her  body, 
and  rushed  right  over  me  before  she  could  stop.  In  a  flash 
thoughts  of  home  went  through  me,  and  I  was  certain  my  end 
had  come.  I  knew  it  was  not  only  useless  but  also  foolhardy  to 
attempt  either  escape  or  defense,  as  I  had  no  knife.  Instinctively 
I  felt  that  the  more  I  struggled  the  less  were  my  chances  of  sur- 
vival. 

I  was  prostrated  on  my  side  on  the  ground  with  my  face  to- 
wards the  cub.  I  expected  to  be  torn  to  pieces;  but  determined 
that  so  long  as  I  could  endure  I  would  lie  perfectly  still.  The 
huge  body  turned  on  me  almost  as  soon  as  I  was  down  and  her 
great  jaws  sunk  into  my  side  just  below  my  right  shoulder.    The 


796  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

pain  was  excruciating,  but  my  thick  coat  and  chamois  vest 
offered  considerable  resistance  before  they  tore  away.  A  huge 
foot  was  placed  on  my  shoulders  and  I  could  smell  the  hot 
breath  of  the  tremendous  brute  above  me.  I  surmised  with  des- 
pair that  next  bite  would  tear  my  ribs  out;  and  though  I  lay 
quiet  I  wondered  why  there  was  an  apparent  delay  in  the  sick- 
ening process.  The  bear  put  much  of  her  weight  on  my  shoulder, 
if  I  may  judge  by  the  feeling,  and  then  silently  peered  toward 
the  cub,  which  all  the  time  had  been  bawling  frantically,  and 
getting  further  away  up  into  the  conifers.  Its  crying  and  bawl- 
ing seemed  to  worry  the  big  bear  standing  over  me,  for  the  next 
I  knew  she  sniffed  at  my  ear  breathing  a  bloody,  frothy  spray 
before  my  eyes,  walked  over  me,  came  back  and  sniffed  again 
and  then  made  off  towards  the  noisy  cub,  the  crying  of  which 
she  apparently  attributed  to  a  new  enemy. 

Lying  as  I  was  with  my  face  towards  her,  I  could,  of  course, 
observe  everything  though  I  hardly  dared  to  wink.  She  got 
about  forty  yards  away  when  she  stopped,  swung  her  head  from 
side  to  side  looking  first  towards  me  then  towards  the  cub.  Then 
she  bounded  towards  me  again  when  a  few  yards  away  slowly 
approached  me  snuffing  and  smelling.  Frothy  blood  appeared 
at  her  mouth;  and  she  looked  more  wicked  and  vengeful  than 
words  can  describe.  Seeing  no  movement  she  again  walked  to- 
wards the  bawling  cub  now  over  a  hundred  yards  away.  She 
went  directly  to  it  this  time,  and  for  a  moment  the  thick  pines 
concealed  her.  I  did  not  know  where  my  gun  was  but  a  pine  tree 
about  a  foot  in  diameter  was  only  three  yards  away. 

I  quietly,  quickly  arose,  ran  for  it,  and  proceeded  to  climb, 
climb,  climb,  as  I  had  never  climbed  before.  Again  I  heard  a 
"woof"  and  before  I  was  out  of  danger  the  great  bear  came 
bounding  back  towards  me.  She  rose  with  her  great  claws  be- 
neath me,  grabbed  my  foot  with  her  jaws  and  tore  heel  and  sole 
completely  off.  She  hesitated  just  long  enough  to  give  the 
leather  a  bite  and  a  flip,  and  when  she  came  after  me  again  I 
mist  have  been  beyond  her  teeth  for  her  ugly  claws  tore  the 
side  of  my  trousers  and  cut  gashes  in  my  leg.  One  more  effort 
and  I  was  out  of  reach! 

I  continued  to  climb  and  it  seemed  ages  before  I  could 
reach  a  branch  of  sufficient  size  to  permit  a  rest.  I  could  hear 
the  bear  biting  and  breathing  below  me;  but  even  though  I 
knew  that  a  grizzly  cannot  climb  a  tree,  I  knew  not  what  the 
fearful  monster  might  be  capable  of.  Upon  looking  down  I 
concluded  that  I  was  reasonably  safe  for  a  time  at  least,  and  I 
grew  calmer.  It  was  fast  growing  dark  but  I  still  could  see 
the  angry  animal  tearing  at  the  tree  below.  I  even  thought  that 
she  might  eat  it  in  two  so  frantic  she  seemed;  but  at  last  she 


THE  GRIZZLY  OF  THE  IDAHO  WOODS  797 

again  walked  away  toward  the  cub  whose  cries  were  still  con- 
stant but  weaker.  My  leg  and  side  were  bleeding  but  I  knew 
no  ribs  were  broken,  thanks  to  my  heavy  clothes. 

For  a  long  time  I  could  hear  the  whimpering  of  the  little 
cub  and  the  responsive  sounds  of  the  "tender"  old  grizzly.  It 
grew  pitch  dark,  and  then  at  last  the  cries  of  the  little  one  grew 
fainter  and  fainter,  finally  dying  away;  and  I  knew  it  had  ex- 
pired. I  heard  loud  sniffing  in  about  five  minutes,  then  the 
sweep  of  bushes  and  the  big  she-grizzly  again  stood  beneath  me 
tearing  at  my  tree.  After  a  time  the  sounds  ceased;  and  the 
silence  I  could  not  understand.  I  dared  not  descend — I  simply 
had  to  sit  and  wait.  The  night  was  cold;  the  robins  had  long 
ceased  to  chatter  in  neighboring  trees,  and  I  feared  I  might  fall. 
I  thought  surely  the  bear  must  have  gone ;  but  after  what  seemed 
hours,  I  heard  her  expel  her  breath  with  what  sounded  like  a 
guttural,  spasmodic  effort.  Whether  she  was  lurking  for  me  or 
dying  I  could  not  tell;  eo  all  night  long  I  sat  in  the  greatest 
of  suspense,  my  side  and  my  bones  aching  from  my  cramped 
position  and  the  cold.  My  hands  were  sore  from  holding  to 
the  rough  bark  of  the  tree ;  and  once,  to  relieve  them,  I  attempt- 
ed to  fasten  my  belt  around  the  trunk  but  it  would  not  reach. 
I  had  had  too  narrow  an  escape  to  think  of  sleep ;  and  as  I  had 
not  the  slightest  impression  concerning  the  status  of  the  vicious 
brute  below  me,  I,  of  course,  dared  not  go  down.  It  was  an  aw- 
ful night! 

How  thankful  I  was  when  the  first  signs  of  dawn  approach- 
ed, and  how  I  peered  into  the  semi-darkness  below  to  ascertain 
if  the  bear  was  still  there!  Finally  the  darkness  began  to  gray, 
and  I  could  make  out  the  form  of  the  monster  below  me,  dead 
or  alive  I  could  not  tell.  When  light  came,  I  could  see  that 
the  bear  was  sprawled  out  apparently  dead. 

I  waited  for  quite  a  while  watching  for  any  movement — 
for  many  a  hunter  has  met  death  by  taking  it  for  granted  that 
a  grizzly  that  did  not  move  was  dead — and  then  at  last  I  slowly 
let  myself  down,  threw  cartridges  at  the  bear  and  shouted  to 
see  if  it  would  move;  but  it  did  not.  Even  then  I  hesitated  to 
go  down  further;  but  upon  looking  closely  and  observing  no 
breathing  movemt^t  I  concluded  she  was  surely  dead.  Cautiously 
I  descended  and  more  cautiously  approached.  She  was  dead, 
my  first  bullet  having  gone  through  her  lungs  and  my  second 
having  glanced  off  from  her  skull  behind  her  eye.  I  searched 
for  my  gun  finding  it  in  the  bushes  nearby.  The  wood  was 
bitten  clear  through  to  the  barrel;  but  otherwise  it  was  in  good 
condition.  I  found  the  cub  dead  in  the  pines  from  which  its 
last  sounds  had  come;  the  bullet  had  gone  clear  through  its 
body. 


:9H 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


How  I  trudged  back  to  camp  with  my  one  bare  foot  hurt- 
ing me  and  my  mind  troubled  over  my  wounds  can  well  be 
imagined;  and  the  boys  were  horrified  at  my  condition.  They 
had  been  searching  for  me,  shouting  and  firing  guns  all  night 
long,  they  said.  A  doctor  was  quickly  brought  from  a  club 
house  down  the  stream,  and  I  was  exceedingly  relieved  when  he 
assured  me  that  having  received  proper  treatment  so  soon  after 
my  terrible  experience  I  need  have  little  fear  of  blood  poison- 
ing, or  other  complications.    It  turned  out  that  he  was  right. 

In  coming  back  from  the  scene  of  my  adventure  I  had 
broken  off  pine  limbs  every  fifty  yards  or  so  and  left  them  on 
the  ground  for  I  valued  my  prize  too  highly  to  run  the  risk 
of  never  finding  it  in  those  impenetrable  woods.  I  was  provided 
with  a  saddle  horse  and  the  boys  walked.  It  took  a  long  time 
to  do  the  skinning,  as  most  of  us  were  novices  in  this  science,  but 
at  last  it  was  accomplished.  We  had  to  blindfold  the  horse  be- 
fore he  would  let  us  place  the  hides  on  him,  but  finally  we  suc- 
ceeded. As  I  sit  now  in  my  library  and  look  at  that  pelt  which 
is  as  big  as  a  carpet,  I  sometimes  shudder  over  again.  Can  you 
blame  me? 


©  Underwood  &  Underwood,  New  York 
GERMAN  PRISONERS  CAPTURED 
These  Germans  were  captured  by  the  French  on  the  Somme  front,  and 
are  shown  being  marched  to  the  rear,  guarded  by  two  cavalry  men.    Prom- 
inent among  the  captives  are  four  Red  Cross  men. 


Problems  of  the  Age 

Dealing  with  Religious,  Social  and  Economic  Questions  and  their 

Solution.    A  Study  for  the  Quorums  and  Classes 

of  the   Melchizedek  Priesthood 

By  Dr.  Joseph  M.  Tanner 


XXII — Sexual  Life 

Its  Importance  in  Life. — One  of  the  burning  questions  of  the  age,  and 
at  the  same  time  one  of  the  consuming  evils,  is  the  life-long  story  of  man's 
sexual  life.  It  protrudes  in  all  the  great  historical  events  of  the  world,  and 
now  that  there  are  in  that  life  such  alarming  dangers  to  the  happiness  and 
continuity  of  the  race,  men  and  women  have  thrown  off  all  disguise  of 
modesty,  and  speak  on  the  subject  with  a  frankness  that  would  have  seemed 
shocking  a  generation  back. 

Sexual  life  is  fundamental  in  our  family  and  social  existence.  One  of 
the  difficulties  respecting  it  arises  from  the  fact  that  we  have  come  to  view  it 
from  an  entirely  false  point  of  view.  We  speak  of  it  sometimes  as  a  "carnal 
life,"  as  a  sort  of  necessary  evil,  as  a  fallen  condition  of  which  we  ought  to 
be  ashamed  and  for  which  we  apologize,  and  as  a  sin  which  we  lay  at  the 
door  of  Adam  and  Eve.  And  why  this  shame,  this  apology?  It  is  no  doubt 
because  that  life  has  been  the  most  shamefully  abused  and  most  ignorantly 
approached  of  all  the  conditions  of  our  worldly  existence. 

Duty. — God  implanted  in  all  life  the  powers  of  procreation,  and  all  life 
has  a  three-fold  duty:  of  birth,  reproduction,  and  death.  These  are  the 
general  laws  of  our  existence.  Concerning  the  duty  of  reproduction,  he 
made  to  Adam  and  Eve  the  announcement  of  the  law  that  man  should  not 
live  alone,  that  he  should  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth. 

Man,  then,  in  his  mortal  condition,  became  a  creator  by  reason  of  the 
sexual  powers  with  which  God  had  endowed  him.  He  became  in  turn  like 
his  Creator — finite,  it  is  true,  yet  he  made  a  beginning  to  the  powers  of  his 
creation,  which  must  grow  in  perfection  as  man  grows  in  attainments. 

Blessings. — God  called  Abraham  forth  from  the  valley  of  the  Mesopota- 
mia. The  great  object  of  that  call  was  to  make  him  the  progenitor  of  a  cho- 
sen people  through  whom  the  Messiah  was  to  come.  With  that  call  there 
came  a  promise,  which  Abraham  held  choice  above  all  other  promises:  that 
his  children  should  be  as  numerous  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven  or  the  sands 
of  the  seashore.  Love  is  the  first  fruits  of  man's  creative  powers.  I  hardly 
need  point  to  the  Old  Testament  for  evidence  respecting  the  law  of  purity 
and  the  purposes  of  God.  God  taught  it  to  Moses  on  the  Tables  of  the  Law; 
Christ  preached  it  to  his  followers;  he  denounced  his  enemies  because  of 
their  adulterous  lives.  Their  fall  from  purity  made  it  impossible  for  them 
to  comprehend  or  follow  him. 

Relationship  of  Sexual  Life  and  the  Spirit  of  God. — Let  us  come  down 
to  conditions  and  experiences  of  our  own  times;  men  go  forth  into  the 
world  as  misionaries  to  expound  divine  laws,  to  preach  repentance,  and  to 
warn.  From  their  words,  faith  is  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Those 
who  are  seeking  divine  truth  are  susceptible  to  the  influences  of  these  mis- 


800  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

i 

aionaries.  The  purity  of  their  lives  gives  effectiveness  to  their  testimonies. 
On  the  other  hand,  digression  from  the  law  of  purity  robs  them  of  their 
spiritual  life,  and  often  severs  the  relationship  in  them  between  the  human 
and  the  divine.  Men  who  digress  from  the  higher  mission  of  sexual  life  lose 
faith,  grow  in  profanity,  until  it  suits  their  conscience  best  to  believe  that 
there  is  no  God,  except  the  laws  of  nature,  towards  which  they  feel  no  very 
great  responsibility.  When  the  law  of  sexual  life  has  been  transgressed 
through  sin,  men  and  women  suffer  the  loss  of  divine  love.  The  sexual  life 
is  God-ordained,  in  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  human  world.  Its  mission  is 
the  mission  of  life  and  progress.  It  carries  with  it  joy  and  blessings,  within 
its  legitimate  exercise.  The  exalted  nature  of  this  life,  however,  makes  it  a 
source  of  temptation,  and  the  depravity  of  its  sinful  course  is  as  debasing  as 
its  legitimate  exercise  is  exalting. 

Exercise. — It  is  a  hidden  life,  and  therefore  susceptible  to  all  the 
greater  dangers.  It  is  a  universal  life,  and  therefore  within  universal  re- 
quirements; but  it  is  said  that  many  of  the  failures  of  that  life  are  not  the 
result  of  man's  preference  or  decision;  they  belong  rather  to  the  misfortunes 
of  life,  to  disappointments,  and  impossibilities.  But  what  is  the  attitude  of 
all  men  toward  such  a  life?  Is  it  one  of  humble  acknowledgment,  or  one 
of  indifference  and  pronounced  contempt?  Into  every  man's  and  woman's 
life  God  has  implanted  sexual  desires  which  have  a  legitimate  mission  that 
may  be  faithfully  performed,  rejected,  or  abused.  It  is  a  life  that  God  in- 
tended should  be  filled  in  a  legitimate  manner,  which  he  has  pointed  out  to 
his  children. 

The  Fall. — We  do  not  regret  the  Fall,  for  through  it  came  the  oppor- 
tunities of  Christ's  redemption,  which  means  immortality  through  the  res- 
urrection, and  eternal  life  through  the  gift  of  God.  The  question  of  our 
sexual  life  is  the  burning  question  of  the  age,  but  with  it  there  comes  the 
further  question  as  to  how  the  oncoming  generation  shall  be  taught  to  view 
and  appreciate  it.  Shall  fathers,  mothers,  and  friends  speak  with  frankness? 
Too  much  frankness  may  be  harmful.  Shall  we  make  its  teaching  more 
general,  and  shall  the  knowledge  of  our  sexual  life  be  made  more  familiar 
to  the  rising  generation?  There  is  such  a  thin  veil  between  its  exalting  and 
its  sinful  effects  that  the  thoughts  of  those  whom  we  may  teach  may  dwell 
upon  the  evil  side  of  it.  "The  knowledge  of  evil  tempteth  to  its  commis- 
sion," says  Canon  Farrar.  The  great  war  has  revealed  to  us  evil  conditions 
in  sexual  life  of  which  we  have  never  dreamed.  The  revelations  of  what  has 
been  the  secret  lives  of  those  in  service  and  those  unfit  for  service  is  but  one 
phase  of  the  evils  of  that  life.  They  may  be  as  poignant  and  as  afflicting 
in  the  home  as  they  are  in  the  army.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
evils  of  divorce,  and  the  hatreds  which  spring  up  between  men  and  women 
in  the  home  are  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  evil  relationships  there  which 
are  after  all  indirect  revelations  of  excessive  and  perhaps  debasing  sexual 
lives.  God  alone  knows;  he  must  be,  therefore,  the  Judge  of  our  universe, 
and  now  that  he  is  speaking  in  the  thundrous  tones  of  war,  famine  and 
pestilence,  shall  we  not  stand  awed  in  the  presence  of  those  calamities  which 
are  rapidly  spreading  over  the  world? 

Duty  to  Teach. — We  often  leave  our  children  to  gain  their  first  im- 
pressions of  sexual  life  from  street  urchins  and  those  whose  vulgarities  make 
them  bold  in  presenting  that  life  more  from  a  debasing  than  an  uplifting 
point  of  view.  The  first  knowledge  of  sexual  life  should  come  from  parents 
who  may  create  in  their  children  exalting  views  about  it. 

Desires,  thoughts  and  feelings  may  be  carnal.  If  man  "follows  after  his 
f?rn,f *  desires,  he  must  fall  and  incur  the  vengeance  of  a  just  God  upon 
him"  (Doc.  and  Cov.  3:4). 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  AGE  801 

XXIII — Divorce 

Growth  of  Divorce. — Easy  and  frequent  divorce  has  become  in  the 
United  States  a  scandalous  condition.  The  state  has  always  considered  itself 
a  third  party  to  a  marriage,  and  has  therefore  insisted  that  both  marriage 
and  divorce  must  be  subject  to  the  regulations  of  the  law.  While  divorce 
can  effect  only  by  legal  proceedings,  the  grounds  for  divorce  have  been  so 
elastic,  and  judges  so  willing  that  unhappy  marriages  should  be  dissolved, 
that  the  daily  grind  of  divorces  in  the  United  States  has  grown  to  enormous 
proportions,  said  to  be  one  out  of  twelve  marriages. 

There  has  been  a  wide  divergence  of  opinion  throughout  the  world  on 
the  subject.  Religious  organizations  have  considered  it  a  sacrament  of  the 
church  and  have  undertaken  to  regulate  it  by  a  religious  ban  upon  those 
who  were  divorced  under  certain  conditions.  They  forbade  remarriage  and 
punished  religiously  those  who  disregarded  church  requirements.  The 
churches,  however,  have  become  less  and  less  an  important  factor  in  the 
matter  of  divorce.  The  question  is  one  of  growing  difficulty,  owing  to  the 
increased  disinclination  to  marry.  Where  divorce  is  difficult,  marriage  is 
restricted,  and  even  where  marriage  exists  wives  and  husbands  live  apart 
without  any  intention  to  marry  again.  Such  a  condition  leads  of  course  to 
gross  immorality.  Sexual  relations  and  the  love  growing  out  of  them  are 
dominating  factors  in  human  life.  What  was  intended  to  be  a  blessing,  be- 
comes a  curse  through  the  misuse  of  passion.  How  to  control  a  God-or- 
dained instinct  in  its  proper  exercise  has  been  a  most  troublesome  question 
from  the  dawn  of  history.  There  is  of  course  only  one  proper  channel  of 
regulation,  and  that  is  marriage.  Even  marriage  is  no  protection  against  the 
shocking  abuses  of  human  passion,  and  it  often  becomes  a  license  rather 
than  a  right  to  be  sacredly  treated.  Law  cannot  reach  the  most  violent 
abuse  of  virtue  in  marriage  relations;  neither  can  it  force  man  and  wife  to 
live  together  when  they  become  obnoxious  to  each  other.  It  can  at  best  say 
that  they  shall  not  be  divorced  and  that  they  shall  not  marry  others.  In 
England  there  has  long  been  a  partial  divorce  from  "bed  and  table,"  but 
while  such  a  law  may  prevent  either  from  marrying,  it  does  not  really  rem- 
edy a  great  social  wrong. 

Unwillingness  to  Marry. — There  is  now  an  evil  taking  root  in  our  social 
life  more  alarming  than  divorce,  and  that  is  the  unwillingness  of  men  to 
marry.  It  is  estimated  that  fully  one  half  of  the  men  in  the  United  States 
between  21  and  45  are  unmarried.  Late  marriages  are  quite  generally  advo- 
cated, that  is,  late  marriages  for  men.  That  fact  gives  rise  to  the  so-called 
double  standard  that  requires  the  strictest  virtue  in  women  and  allows  the 
greatest  laxity  in  men.  One  of  our  metropolitan  papers  recently  set  up  a 
justification  for  this  standard  by  the  argument  that  when  a  woman  is  untrue 
to  her  husband,  he  becomes  intolerable  to  her  and  that  she  no  longer  loves 
him,  while  the  opposite  is  true  of  man. 

Divorce  is  evaded  in  some  countries  by  what  is  called  in  Germany  wild 
marriage.  Men  and  women  under  this  system  simply  live  together.  If  they 
have  children  they  style  themselves  husband  and  wife,  and  the  children,  who 
often  know  nothing  of  their  parents'  status,  address  them  as  father  and 
mother.  The  excuse  of  such  a  practice  is  of  course  the  plea  that  divorce  is 
impossible.  Such  a  practice  further  admits  of  a  great  deal  of  shifting  of  men 
and  women  from  one  to  another.  The  fact  that  women  have  lived  with 
other  men  before  marriage,  and  even  where  they  have  children,  does  not 
carry  the  same  weight  of  objection  in  Germany  that  it  does  in  other  coun- 
tries. 

Partial  Divorce. — The  evils  above  described  are  not  the  result  of  the 
ease  or  difficulty  with  which  divorces  may  be  procured.    They  are  the  result 


802  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

of  immoral  natures  which  the  conscience  is  unable  to  correct.  In  the  ab- 
sence  of  positive  religious  convictions,  the  conscience  becomes  a  very  elastic 
thing. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  trend  of  modern  state  requirements  is  in  the  di- 
rection of  easier  divorces.  How  far  the  laxity  in  matters  of  divorce  can  be 
carried  without  breaking  down  the  present  marriage  system  it  is  diffcult  to 
say.  There  is  a  breaking  point,  however,  in  marriage  where  the  state  may 
become  a  party  to  it.  At  any  rate  the  state  may  become  an  indifferent 
spectator.  The  Chicago  Sunday  Tribune,  of  August  26,  1917,  prints  the  fol- 
lowing from  London: 

"That  there  are  from  250,000  to  300,000  persons  in  Great  Britain 
legally  separated  yet  not  divorced,  is  one  of  the  statements  in  the 
report  of  the  royal  commission  which  has  lately  been  investigating 
the  divorce  problem. 

"This,  moreover,  is  only  a  beginning.  Other  multitudes  of  men 
and  women  who  have  been  married  continue  not  only  married  but 
without  even  legal  authority,  to  live  apart,  although  they  do  not  and 
could  not  live  together.  Probably  this  second  classification  is  larger 
than  the  first. 

"However  greatly  both  husband  and  wife  may  wish  it,  they  cannot 
be  divorced  unless  there  has  been  adultery  on  the  wife's  part,  or 
adultery  and  also  cruelty,  on  the  husband's  part."  [Another  in- 
stance of  the  double  standard.] 

"Even  advocates  of  easier  divorce  in  some  cases  fear  that  this 
measure  would  make  it  too  easy.  But  the  people  who  have  investi- 
gated do  not.  They  describe  fearfully  immoral  conditions  widely 
existent  because  of  the  present  difficulties  of  getting  divorce.  Immor- 
ality, illegitimacy,  disease  and  a  fearful  number  of  cases  of  bigamy  are 
numerated.  Husband  and  wife  legally  bound  to  each  other,  yet  le- 
gally separated,  forced  to  lives  of  celibacy,  lose  all  moral  standards. 
The  fact  that  they  are  commonly  poor  makes  the  results  yet  worse." 

Wife  Trading. — Wife  trading  is  another  divorce  evil  which  easy  separa- 
tion encourages,  and  yet  it  is  not  so  baneful  to  society  as  the  conditions 
described  in  Great  Britain.  Now  and  then  such  trading  is  given  in  the 
public  print,  and  generally  given  in  such  humorous  vein  that  the  matter  is 
treated  as  a  joke  rather  than  as  a  warning.  A  large  public  sentiment  is  in- 
different to  it.  As  I  write  the  following  appears  in  a  New  York  paper  from 
Havre,  Montana,  of  August  26,  the  date  on  which  the  conditions  in  Great 
Britain  are  described: 

"Usually  when  a  man  falls  in  love  with  another  man's  wife 
there's  a  shooting  affray.  And  again,  when  a  woman  gets  to  liking 
another  woman's  husband  better  than  her  own,  there's  the  deuce  to 
pay.  But  not  so  here!  When  Mrs.  T.,  a  wife  of  a  prominent  Havre 
lawyer,  felt  she  loved  the  husband  of  Mrs.  J.  better  than  her  own 
mate,  she  didn't  hide  the  matter.  Nor  did  Mrs.  J.  when  she  fell  in 
love  with  Mr.  T.  Nor  did  Mr.  T.  when  he  took  a  liking  to  Mrs.  J. 
Nor  did  Mr.  J.  when  he  became  fonder  of  Mrs.  T.  than  of  his  own 
wife.  They  all  went  to  Boulder  Hot  Springs,  obtained  a  divorce, 
and  then  by  marriage  made  the  trade  complete.  These  neighbors  each 
had  a  boy  and  a  girl.  After  the  trade  one  took  the  two  boys  and  the 
other  the  two  girls,  and  all  parties  were  pleased  with  the  new  ar- 
rangements." 

"May  they  live  happily  ever  afterward,  almost  any  one  will  hope,"  is 
the  closing  sentence  of  this  article. 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  AGE  803 

Dangers  of  Childless  Lives. — Such  inroads  made  into  family  life  are 
aided  greatly  by  the  absence  of  children  in  the  home.  It  is  an  abortive 
attempt  to  substitute  the  pleasures  of  life  for  the  God-ordained  laws  of  our 
being.  Some  years  ago  a  commission  of  eminent  physicians  met  in  Con- 
stantinople to  make  an  investigation  into  the  moral  conditions  of  the  Turks. 
The  writer  asked  one  of  these  physicians  why  such  conditions  as  he  de- 
scribed among  the  married  women  of  France  prevailed.  "It  is  one  of  the 
simplest  laws  of  nature,"  he  replied.  "When  a  man  marries  he  usually 
makes  a  harlot  out  of  his  wife  by  the  prevention  of  offspring.  It  is  an  easy 
step  from  harlotry  of  the  home  to  promiscuous  harlotry.  A  man  by  such 
a  course  sows  the  seeds  of  a  deadly  suspicion  in  his  own  mind,  and  reaps 
the  harvest  of  marital  despair.  He  robs  himself  of  contentment  and  do- 
mestic happiness  and  pays  the  penalty  nature  has  in  store  for  him." 

Secret  Evils.— An  external  survey  of  married  life  and  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  divorce  is  at  most  only  superficial.  The  grosser  evils  belong  to  the 
secrets  of  the  home,  they  are  a  part  of  the  immoral  nature  of  man.  The 
patent  remedies  of  the  world  today  do  not  reach  the  seat  of  the  disease.  The 
true  remedy  lies  in  the  return  of  man  to  the  true  worship  of  God,  a  wor- 
ship in  which  he  feels  a  direct  responsibility  to  his  Maker.  The  most  sacred 
rights  of  woman  have  been  overthrown.  They  are  not  economic  or  political, 
they  are  domestic,  and  yet  she  pursues  political  and  social  remedies  that  do 
not  solve  the  question  of  her  happiness.  Her  fundamental,  indispensable 
rights  to  happiness  are  found  in  wifehood,  motherhood,  and  perfect  freedom 
in  the  control  of  her  body.  Indecency  in  married  life  may  not  be  so  baneful 
as  promiscuous  sexual  intercourse,  yet  it  lays  the  foundation  of  a  great 
multitude  of  divorces. 

"Why  marry  at  all?"  is  the  soliloquy  of  millions  of  men  who  point  to 
divorce  and  marital  unhappiness  as  an  excuse.  The  source  of  our  present 
conditions  must  be  sought  in  our  own  secret  internal  life.  We  can  hardly 
say  like  the  prophet  of  old:  "Search  me,  oh  God!"  We  do  not  need  di- 
vine investigation.  We  have  enough  self-revelation  to  make  us  better  if  only 
we  had  the  will  and  the  faith  necessary  to  bring  us  back  into  the  paths 
which  lead  us  to  humility  and  righteousness.  Increasing  divorce  is  one  of 
the  strongest  evidences  of  our  departure  from  the  way  set  by  divine  will. 

After  the  war,  when  our  present  social,  economic,  and  political  insti- 
tutions will  witness  a  vast  disintegration,  there  may  come  to  the  world  a 
higher  standard  of  justice  and  faith.  Much  of  the  old  must  pass,  for  it  is 
already  in  a  state  of  decay.  There  is  scarcely  a  condition  of  life  that  the 
war  does  not  touch  in  some  vital  manner.  From  it  will  come  a  period  of 
reconstruction,  a  period  every  thoughtful  man  should  study. 

Law  of  God. — "The  man  is  not  without  the  woman  in  the  Lord,  neither 
the  woman  without  the  man."  In  marriage  is  to  be  found  the  highest 
estate  of  man  or  woman.  Divorces  are  permitted  by  the  Church  though 
they  are  greatly  deplored.  (Doc.  and  Cov.  42:22,23;  49:15;  83:2;  132:18-20; 
I  Cor.  11:11,12.) 


XXIV — Race  Suicide 

Theory.— This  subject  is  apparently  as  old  as  the  human  race.  It  has 
rested  in  the  past  as  it  rests  in  the  present,  upon  the  relative  conditions  of 
production  and  consumption.  Theoretically,  and  argumentatively,  it  may 
be  said  that  if  the  normal  increase  of  human  life  went  on  without  decimina- 
tion  by  war  or  disease,  the  world  would  find  it  difficult  to  produce  from 
all  its  known  agencies  the  amount  required  for  the  sustenance  of  the  human 


804  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

There  are,  however,  a  number  of  forces  in  operation  which  are  con- 
stantly tending  toward  the  restriction  of  life.  These  forces  or  agencies  have 
been  counted  upon  to  keep  a  normal  balance  without  man's  interference 
viciously  with  the  laws  of  life.  Whatever  may  be  our  theory  about  God's 
purposes  in  the  world  and  the  conduct  of  nations  toward  one  another,  it  is 
certain  that  social  forces  are  constantly  acting  in  restraint  of  life  and  toward 
the  destruction  of  life.  These  social  conditions  represent  man's  agency,  his 
rebellion  against  the  laws  of  God,  his  intelligence,  and  his  fall  from  the 
highest  state  of  his  creation.  We-need  not  attribute  wars  to  God.  Neither 
need  we  assign  to  him  the  causes^f  pestilence,  famine  and  all  sorts  of  dis- 
eases. It  is  a  common  world  in  which  we  live,  and  nature  is  so  regulated 
since  the  Creation  that  it  is  constantly  working  off  waste  or  fetid  matter 
and  taking  on  new  life.  It  is  doing  so  with  the  human  family.  It  is  true 
we  cannot  reach  satisfactory  conclusions  about  the  origin  or  even  the  jus- 
tice, from  a  finite  point  of  view,  of  all  these  unfavorable  conditions  to 
our  existence. 

The  question,  then,  of  race  suicide  from  the  beginning  is  largely  a 
question  of  whether  man  shall  use  violent  and  artificial  means  to  add  to 
the  limitations  or  destruction  of  life.  Shall  he  not  rather  leave  the  question 
of  the  earth'  population  to  those  conditions,  those  calamities  and  destruc- 
tions which  of  themselves  from  all  time  have  been  sufficient  to  keep  a  nor- 
mal balance  between  the  needs  and  the  production  of  the  world's  animals 
and  man? 

Methods. — A  little  more  than  a  century  ago  a  writer  by  the  name  of 
Malthus  took  up  the  question  of  the  world's  population,  and  in  r.a  academic 
way  sought  to  prove  that  some  restraint  must  be  put  by  man  himself  upon 
life  in  order  to  prevent  the  world  from  the  fate  of  sure  starvation  if  the 
human  family  were  permitted  to  go  on  and  people  the  earth  more  rapidly 
than  it  was  able  to  provide  for  the  people's  sustenance.  In  the  case  of  race 
suicide,  as  in  the  case  of  numerous  other  instances,  men  have  set  up  arti- 
ficial means  in  the  place  of  those  which  in  the  nature  of  things  belong  to 
social  life  and  the  laws  of  nature.  What  would  happen  to  this  world  of 
ours  were  the  ideals  of  the  Malthusian  theory  to  prevail?  But  that  is  really 
beside  the  mark.  The  judgments  of  God  have  a  very  distinct  place  in  the 
annals  of  history,  and  then  there  is  the  further  fact  that  men  have  brought 
down  upon  them  destruction  by  reason  of  their  own  retrograding  movements. 

Ancient  Practices. — Let  us  see  how  the  ancient  world  undertook  in  its 
crude  and  cruel  manner  what  in  these  days  we  are  seeking  to  do  by  more 
refined  means.  Here  it  may  be  well  to  remark  that  what  we  call  civilization 
is  not  always  progress.  Civilization  too  often  has  within  it  refined  means 
of  accomplishing  ends  that  were  sought  in  the  barbarous  ages  by  more  cruel 
and  inhuman  methods.  In  the  early  stages  of  history  race  suicide  was  ac- 
complished both  through  religious  and  economic  purposes.  The  early  in- 
habitants of  Asia  had  a  practice  of  offering  up  their  first-born  in  order  to 
propitiate  their  idolatrous  gods.  When  the  Israelites  had  settled  in  the  Land 
of  Promise,  they  found  a  people  there  who  were  practicing  human  sacrifice. 
In  the  days  of  Israel's  glory  which  shone  about  the  throne  of  Solomon,  the 
God  Moloch  was  set  up  in  the  Valley  of  the  Hinnon,  just  below  the  City  of 
David  on  the  west,  and  there  infants  were  offered  in  the  fiery  furnace  of 
this  heathen  god.  Among  the  tribes  of  Australia  and  the  islands  of  the 
South  Pacific  there  grew  up  a  practice  of  burying  children  alive  because 
they  were  wanted  by  parents  or  relatives  that  were  waiting  for  them  on  the 
other  side. 

Again  various  tribes  that  were  nomadic  in  character  often  destroyed 
their  children  because  in  moving  from  place  to  place  they  could  not  care 
for  them.     These  human  sacrifices  were  generally  performed  by  the  men, 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  AGE  805 

but  in  some  of  the  lowest  tribes  the  mothers  joined  in  this  hideous  religious 
rite.  Along  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  out  of  the  control  of  the  English,  chil- 
dren were  destroyed  by  mothers,  and  there  was  a  belief  among  the  Kaffir 
population  of  South  Africa  that  unless  they  laid  a  lump  of  earth  upon  the 
mouths  of  their  children  and  thus  produced  death,  the  parents  would  lose 
their  strength. 

Madagascar  was  also  noted  for  its  infanticides.  There  were  certain  so- 
called  unlucky  days.  Children  born  on  such  days  were  put  to  death  l<s  unfit 
to  live.  If  a  child  cried  at  its  birth,  it  was  unlucky  and  death  for  it  was 
preferable  to  life.  In  South  America  there  existed  in  earlier  times  the  prac- 
tice of  burying  children  alive.  The  Guanos  restricted  their  family  to  two 
children. 

In  Takelaus  or  Line  Islands  the  husband  decided  how  many  children 
should  live  according  to  the  amount  of  land  which  the  head  of  the  family 
possessed. 

It  may  be  said  that  in  the  race  suicide  practice  of  the  ancients  there 
always  existed  the  belief  that  it  was  better  to  destroy  the  girls.  In  some 
places  the  reasons  given  were  religious  but  they  were  often  economic,  since 
they  were  non-producers.  And  then  there  was  the  further  reason  that  by 
killing  girl  babies  they  help  to  keep  an  equilibrium  between  the  males 
and  the  females  since  many  males  would  naturally  be  destroyed  through  the 
incessant  warfare  of  those  uncivilized  tribes. 

When  the  English  conquered  India  they  found  there  the  same  disposi- 
tion to  practice  race  suicide.  Wives  were  placed  on  the  funeral  pyres  of 
their  dead  husbands.    Female  children  were  drowned  in  the  Ganges. 

Illustrations. — Behind  these  religious  pretensions  there  was  also  un- 
doubtedly an  economic  purpose  and  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants 
to  shirk  the  responsibility  which  parentage- brought  upon  them. 

"Infanticide,  which  until  now  has  gone  unpunished  [says  Dr. 
Lauterer]  is  practiced  especially  iir  Pekin  and  Fuhkien.  A  large  per 
cent  of  female  infants  meet  with  an  unnatural  death  because  of  their 
parents'  poverty  or  their  niggardliness.  The  unfortunates  are  simply 
cast  into  the  nearest  stream  and  the  corpses  left  until  the  morning 
when  the  government's  wagon  collects  them,  or  they  are  exposed  in 
the  open  where,  not  being  protected  from  the  cold,  they  soon  perish. 
Lately  a  decree  has  been  made  to  prohibit  it." 

"The  Province  of  Fuhkien  [says  Douglas]  is  that  in  which  this 
crime  most  obtains.  Inquiries  show  that  in  many  districts  as  large  a 
portion  as  one-fourth  of  the  female  children  born  are  destroyed  at 
birth.  At  Pekin,  on  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  be  said  to  exist  at  all. 
But  in  this  as  in  so  many  social  offenses  in  China,  the  sword  of  the 
law,  which  is  alone  capable  of  putting  down  crime,  is  allowed  to 
hang  like  a  rusty  weapon  on  the  wall.  It  is  true  that  occasionally 
proclamations  are  issued  in  which  heinousness  of  the  evil  is  explained 
with  all  the  impressiveness  that  could  be  desired,  but  so  long  as  nat- 
ural affection  finds  no  support  from  without  it  will  continue,  in  China, 
to  yield  the  requirements  of  daily  food." 

"Modern  writers  on  Japan  lay  stress  on  the  affection  of  the  Jap- 
anese for  their  children,  and  yet  'during  the  famine  of  1905  many  girls 
who  had  been  sold  by  suffering  parents  were  redeemed  by  the  Chris- 
tians.' This  sacrifice  of  children  to  the  welfare  of  the  parents  is  trace- 
able to  the  influence  of  Confucius.  To  the  same  source  may  be  as- 
cribed the  fact  that,  though  in  ancient  times  the  female  sex  was  prom- 
inent in  Japan,  after  the  introduction  of  Confucianism  the  Samurai 
considered  it  beneath  him  to  even  converse  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren     'Neither  God  nor  the  ladies  inspired  any  enthusiasm   in  the 


806  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

m 

Samurai's  heart,'  says  Professor  Chamberlain.  For  is  it  not  written 
by  the  great  moralist  Karbara  Ekken,  in  the  Owna  Dargaku,  'It  was 
the  custom  of  the  ancients,  on  the  birth  of  a  female  child,  to  let  it 
lie  on  the  floor  for  the  space  of  three  days.  Even  in  this  may  be  seen 
the  likening  of  the  man  to  heaven  and  of  the  woman  to  earth." 

"Ever  since  the  beginning  of  that  indefinite  period  which  we  call 
'modern  times'  the  birth  of  a  child  has  always  been  an  occasion  for 
rejoicing.  To  be  sure,  in  Japan  that  joy  was  very  much  greater  when 
it  was  a  boy  baby;  yet  the  Japanese  have  never  displayed  such  intense 
dislike  to  girl  babies  as  have  the  Chinese.  One  great  reason  for  this 
was  that  the  population  of  Japan  was  not  so  dense  as  it  is  in  China. 
It  was  easier  to  provide  for  children,  and  therefore  there  was  no  in- 
centive to  put  girl  babies  out  of  the  way.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
very  lately,  since  the  Russo-Japanese  war  (1904-5),  when  the  Japanese 
people  are  almost  crushed  by  the  weight  of  taxes  to  provide  money 
with  which  to  pay  war  expenses  and  to  keep  up  army  and  navy,  the 
number  of  cases  of  female  infanticide  is  increasing  alarmingly." 

Semitic  Races. — It  may  be  well  here  in  passing  to  note  that  the  Israelites 
and  kindred  races  were  not  given  as  a  rule  to  the  practice  of  infanticide. 
The  offering  of  human  life  was  forbidden  them,  and  in  lieu  of  a  command 
which  God  gave  to  Abraham  to  offer  up  his  son  Isaac,  he  provided  for 
Abraham  a  "ram  in  the  thicket."  The  Israelites  were  commanded,  according 
to  the  law,  to  make  sacrificial  offerings  of  certain  animals.  The  law  of 
sacrifice  is  as  universal  and  as  old  as  the  race.  It  also  has  certain  divine  sup- 
port. It  was  practiced  by  Abel  and  Cain  and  the  law  of  sacrifice  was  typical 
of  that  culminating  sacrifice  of  God  in  which  he  offered  his  Son  as  a  sacri- 
ficial atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Man,  however,  in  the  practice  of  his  sacrifices,  has  substituted  his  own 
ideas  and  emotions  for  the  purpose  and  plans  of  God,  for  the  only  true 
order  of  sacrifice  which  God  himself  instituted,  and  which  is  also  typical 
of  the  thousand  sacrifices  we  make  of  the  flesh  in  the  processes  of  our  earthly 
progression.  The  infidel  objections  to  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  are  founded 
upon  the  practice  of  sacrifice  in  the  heathen  world. 


Prohibition  in  Canada 


By  De  Voe  Woolf,  LL.  B. 


Some  months  ago  the  Union  government  of  Canada  passed 
an  order-in-council  prohibiting  the  importation  of  alcoholic 
drinks  into  Canada,  and  also  prohibiting  the  manufacture  of 
spirits  for  beverage  purposes,  in  Canada.  It  goes  still  further 
and  forbids  interprovincial  liquor  traffic  in  all  provinces  where 
prohibition  is  in  force.  The  announcement  has  also  been  made 
that  the  manufacture  of  ale,  beer  and  porter  will  be  prohibited 
immediately. 

The  effect  of  this  order-in-council  is  to  cut  off  at  one  stroke 
of  the  pen  a  trade  with  foreign  countries  which,  hitherto,  has 
totalled  nearly  ten  million  dollars,  and  which  has  contributed  an 
annual  revenue  to  the  country  in  custom  duties  of  about  fifteen 
million  dollars. 


PROHIBITION  IN  CANADA  807 

The  custom  returns  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1914, 
show  that  2,082,194  gallons  of  ale,  heer  and  porter  valued  at 
$1,338,893,  and  4,862,063  gallons  of  spirits  and  wines  valued  at 
$7,392,235,  were  imported  into  Canada.  The  total  value  of  these 
liquors  amounted  to  $8,731,228,  and  the  duty  collected  totaled 
$14,543,441.  The  volume  of  imports  of  this  nature  in  the  year 
ending  March  31,  1914,  totaled  6,944,257  gallons. 

In  the  year  1915-16  the  three  western  provinces  Mani- 
toba, Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  went  dry.  Ontario  soon  fol- 
lowed, likewise  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  Prince  Edward 
Island  and  British  Columbia.  There  was  a  marked  falling  off 
of  imports  during  that  year.  For  the  year  ending  Sept.  30,  1917, 
the  custom  returns  show  135,210  gallons  of  ale,  beer  and  porter, 
valued  at  $106,426,  and  paying  a  duty  of  $63,982 ;  and  2,603,761 
gallons  of  spirits  and  wines  valued  at  $4,182,710  and  paying  du- 
ties of  $5,036,509. 

It  will  be  noted  that  even  with  prohibition  in  practically 
all  of  Canada,  general  war  conditions  in  the  civilized  world,  and 
the  submarine  menace  of  1916-17,  the  traffic  in  spirits  and 
wines  in  1917  was  almost  42  per  cent  of  what  it  had  been  in  the 
ante-war,  ante-prohibition  year  of  1914. 

Virtually  all  that  remains  of  the  flourishing  traffic  in 
liquor  in  Canada  is  the  infinitesimal  stocks  on  hand  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Quebec.  Within  three  years  vested  interests,  generally 
considered  the  strongest  and  most  powerful  in  Canada,  have 
been  swept  out,  with  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen;  and  a  trade  gen- 
erally conceded  to  be  impregnably  established,  has  been  abol- 
ished. 

The  government  describes  the  orders-in-council  as  war  meas- 
ures, designed  to  conserve  food,  and  to  release  shipping  facil- 
ities for  proper  purposes.  But  any  government  will  never  at- 
tempt to  reinstate  these  interests  and  this  traffic  after  the  war. 

Prohibition  has  come  to  stay  in  Canada. 

i iiiii in iiimiiiiiiimi minium nun in mill mi mini miimi mi i iimiiii i^ 

1  One  of  the  speakers  at  an  officers'  meeting  of  the  Y.  M.  | 

1  M.  I.  A.,  in  the  June  Conference,  suggested  the  following  | 

1  as  a  good  resolution  for  officers  to  make  and  live  by : 

I  will  take  an  interest  in  my  duties,  and  will  not  be  J 

I  satisfied  with  slip-shod  and  merely  passable  work,  either  | 

|  in  myself  or  in  the  officers  under  me — doing  my  own  | 

1  part  promptly  and  as  well  as  I  can,  and  then  helping  | 

J  others  to  do  their  part.     I  will  do  all  this  in  a  cheerful  | 

|  spirit,  realizing  that  petulancy  and  pessimism  depress  | 

1  all  the  workers,  and  injure  all  the  work. 

inmiimmimimi mil i minim iiiiiuiuiiu iiiiuiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii in m in i i ""»u.= 


The  Meaning  of  Education 

By  E.  G.  Peterson,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  President  Utah  Agricultural  College 


X — The  Road  to  Spiritual  Power 

We  are  strong  in  proportion  to  our  ability  to  realize  and  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  grow  and  develop.  In  things 
physical,  change  is  always  taking  place;  in  things  chemical, 
change  is  always  taking  place.  Likewise  in  our  conceptions  and 
our  ideals  we  are  constantly  changing  for  good  or  bad.  As  our 
understanding  deepens,  our  motives  and  our  hopes  readjust 
themselves  to  suit  the  new  vision  which  we  have. 

It  is  a  great  achievement  in  our  lives  when  this  truth  becomes 
part  of  our  being.  It  induces  charity  and  tolerance  and  broad- 
mindeness  as  few  other  things  do.  We  cease  to  condemn  and  we 
learn  to  respect  and  to  forgive,  because  when  this  law  of  growth 
and  improvement  opens  to  our  view  we  see  life  as  a  much  bigger 
and  nobler  thing  than  we  conceived  it  to  be  when  we  thought 
that  our  thoughts  were  final,  our  deductions  complete,  and  our 
actions  undeniably  as  all  should  act — when  we  thought,  in  a 
word,  that  things  were  fixed. 

Our  ideals  change.  Especially  is  this  true  of  students,  and  we 
are  all  students  whether  we  are  in  school  or  not.  Indeed,  I  be- 
lieve this  life  to  be  only  a  training  camp,  as  it  were,  in  prepar- 
ation for  an  existence  of  much  higher  order  but,  I  believe,  sub- 
ject to  like  laws  and  principles  as  this. 

Our  first  ideal  is  physical.  We  glory  in  strength  of  muscle,  in 
soundness  of  heart,  in  power  of  lung,  we  watch  anxiously  the  con- 
tour of  body  which  denotes  physical  vigor.  We  are  roused  to 
enthusiam  by  athletic  competition  and  envy  the  fleetness  of 
limb  or  tenacity  of  body  which  produces  the  athletic  hero.  The 
pictures  on  our  walls  are  likely  physical  in  character  of  the 
bodies  of  men  and  women.  Profiles  attract  us.  Sensuality  charms 
us  to  the  exclusion  of  many  other  strong  considerations. 

Experiences  accumulate,  and  almost  unconsciously  we  see 
the  vision  of  the  mental.  We  strive  for  mental  power.  We  long 
to  be  able  to  debate  with  effectiveness,  to  master  complexities  of 
mathematics  and  the  like.  We  long  to  be  solvers  of  problems. 
We  scorn  those  suggestions,  of  older  and  wiser  friends,  that 
bear  upon  religion  and  the  other  questions  of  the  spirit  of  man. 
We  believe  what  can  be  demonstrated  or  thought  out.  We  deny 


THE  MEANING  OF  EDUCATION  809 

the  necessity  of  any  other  belief.  We  revel  in  the  satisfactions 
of  Darwinism,  and  materialistic  explanations  of  life.  Our  mind 
riots  in  controversy.  In  this  stage  of  development,  where  many 
stop,  we  experience  the  exuberance  of  full  blooded  youth  and 
early  maturity.  We  have  not  experienced  much  of  pain  or  great 
satisfaction  or  worry.  When  these  come,  accompanied  by  other 
changes,  we  shift  into  the  phase  of  the  moral. 

We  see  the  meaning  of  self  sacrifice.  We  see  our  soul  strength- 
ened by  good  deeds  and  weakened  by  evil.  We  conquer  and 
assume  place  by  virtue  of  the  degree  of  righteousness  which  we 
represent,  aided,  of  course,  by  our  mental,  and  indeed  physical, 
fitness.  We  welcome  hardship  for  the  sake  of  strengthening 
our  moral  powers.  We  devote  ourselves  to  the  principles  of 
honor,  of  personal  purity,  of  generosity,  of  charity.  We  vote  for 
upright  men,  we  struggle  for  the  elimination  of  graft  and  for 
the  return,  to  those  who  deserve,  of  the  legitimate  profits  of 
life.  We  do,  in  measure,  unto  others  as  we  would  that  others 
would  do  unto  us. 

Beyond  here  many  do  not  go.  They  have  achieved  much  to 
have  rendered  themselves  moral — to  have  gained  moral  power — 
and  pass  away  unconscious,  in  large  measure,  of  the  crowning 
privilege  of  man  which  is  built  upon,  and  supplementary  to,  a 
degree  of  moral  and  mental  vigor  and  clarity.  I  mean  the  priv- 
ilege of  spiritual  strength.  To  those  who  pass  beyond  the  mere 
moral  there  is  opened  up  a  vision  that  satisfies  beyond  all  else. 
Christ  becomes  a  moving  principle.  Faith  succeeds  belief.  An 
invincible  will  succeeds  a  mere  determination.  We  stand  on  the 
summit  and  survey  a  whole  world  which  is  ours,  in  humility 
and  in  righteousness.  We  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us. 
We  are  above  the  petty  bickerings  of  life  because  we  have  seen 
something  of  the  great  purposes  of  God.  We  have  seen  and  be- 
lieve in  the  harmony  of  the  universe.  The  wind  blows  for  us 
and  all  the  world  under  the  guidance  of  a  will  and  a  purpose. 
The  mountains  comfort  us  because  they  are  of  God.  Mankind 
in  their  vast  intermingling,  in  their  vast  crime,  and  in  their 
beauty,  alone  and  together,  are  all  eternal  souls  who  are  stumb- 
ling on  toward  the  goal  which  God  has  set. 

Privation,  hardship,  suffering  become  incidents.  We  reread 
historv  and  see  the  flame  of  spirituality  lighting  the  world 
from  the  beginning.  The  earth  is  ours  to  command.  The  vast 
forces  that  we  say  are  hidden— they  are  ours  to  use  to  the  ends 
of  righteousness. 
Logan,  Utah 


Experience  at  the  Front 

By  Private   Jesse  Frederick  Harrington,   of   the   Canadian   Overseas   Expe- 
ditionary Force 


[Having  been  requested  to  write  something  on  his  experiences  at  the 
front  in  France,  this  Canadian  volunteer,  now  a  resident  of  Preston,  Idaho, 
gives  a  realistic  picture  of  his  baptism  of  fire,  his  belief  in  the  protecting 
power  of  God,  and  his  reason  for  finding  rest  in  his  dugout  in  the  horror 
of  shot  and  shell. — Editor.] 

I  was  living  with  my  family  in  Vancouver,  Canada,  when 
this  war  started,  and  realizing  that  a  German  victory  meant  the 
loss  of  freedom  and  the  total  annihilation  of  those  ideals  so  dear 
to  humanity,  I  enlisted  with  the  Canadians,  October,  1914.  After 
training  for  the  winter,  I  embarked  for  England,  being  stationed 
just  outside  the  famous  town  of  Dover,  and  within  sound  of  the 
big  guns  which  added  greatly  to  the  realism  of  our  training  now 
carried  on  more  intensively.  It  was  at  this  time  the  German 
made  his  murderous  gas  attack  on  the  Canadians,  causing  such 
terrible  loss,  and  I  formed  part  of  the  reserves  sent  over  to  help, 
and  landed  at  Rouen.  Here  the  men  were  given  another  of  the 
many  medical  examinations.  After  this  we  were  piled  onto  the 
train  journeying  for  some  six  hours,  then  came  a  five-  or  six-mile 
ride  in  motor  lorries,  or  transports,  followed  by  a  very  enjoy- 
able ( ? ) .  march  in  mud,  knee-deep.  This  lasted  until  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  located  our  regiment  the  next  day 
at  Festubert,  being  transferred  to  the  Fifteenth  Highlanders.  It 
was  here,  and  in  this  regiment,  I  received  my  baptism  of  fire. 

On  my  first  trip  into  the  trenches,  I  was  sent  back  with  a 
ration  party;  on  the  last  half  mile  of  road  leading  into  the 
trenches,  the  shells  were  coming  so  fast  and  furious  that  we  had 
to  run  about  ten  yards,  then  throw  ourselves  flat  on  the  ground. 
This  performance  was  continually  repeated  until  we  were  within 
three  hundred  yards  of  the  fighting  line.  Here  we  must  go  on 
our  knees,  and  sometimes  like  the  snake,  crawl  in  the  dust.  By 
the  time  we  reached  the  front  line,  our  ration  tin  would  have 
served  very  well  for  a  sieve,  and  a  large  amount  of  French  soil 
had  become  mixed  in  with  the  bacon.  This  latter,  Tommy  must 
fish  out  as  best  he  could,  and  forget  the  dust,  as  this  constituted 
part  of  his  food  for  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  On  our  way,  the 
horror  of  this  proved  too  much  for  two  of  our  men;  one  did  not 
reach  the  trench,  but  the  other,  a  colored  man,  collapsed  when 


EXPERIENCE  AT  THE  FRONT  811 

he  got  there,  and  was  unable  to  speak  for  four  days  after.  As  an 
attack  was  expected  that  night  we  were  held  in  the  trench  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  but  Fritz  having  evidently  changed  his  mind, 
we  were  again  sent  to  the  rear.  On  our  way  out,  we  found  the 
German  snipers  quite  busy,  their  bullets  whistling  all  around  us, 
and  passing  between  the  men's  legs;  sometimes  between  the  leg 
and  the  cloth  of  the  trousers,  one  man's  rifle  slung  on  his  back, 
being  split  in  half  by  shrapnel,  he  escaping  unscathed.  A  little 
later,  hearing  a  heavy  shell  coming,  we  threw  ourselves  down, 
and  I  later  regained  consciousness  to  find  myself  alone  and  on 
my  back,  on  a  pile  of  bricks  some  distance  from  where  I  had 
thrown  myself.  My  back  and  hips  were  black  and  sore  from  the 
force  with  which  I  landed.  This  was  finally  the  cause  of  my 
discharge,  though  at  the  time  I  did  not  take  it  seriously,  and  I 
carried  on  for  four  months  before  receiving  the  second  wound 
in  my  leg. 

I  was  then  placed  in  the  grenade  company,  more  popularly 
known  as  the  suicide  squad,  and  was  sent  out  on  outpost  duty. 
When  we  espied  a  German  patrol  making  our  way,  there  being 
but  two  of  us  and  in  a  position  where  we  were  as  liable  to  be  hit 
by  our  own  men,  I  sent  back  my  companion,  who  was  very  young 
and  nervous,  to  report  the  matter,  and  took  up  a  strategic  posi- 
tion behind  a  bunch  of  grass  until  help  came,  when  we  opened 
fire  scattering  the  enemy.  About  this  time  my  back  began  to 
bother  me,  and  my  chum  insisted  on  massaging  me  until  I  ob- 
tained relief.  This  often  followed  a  hard  day's  work  on  his 
part;  but  nowhere  in  the  world  is  there  to  be  found  such  a  spirit 
of  love  and  unselfishness  among  men  as  at  the  front.  This  war 
seems  to  be  as  a  refiner's  fire  bringing  to  the  surface  all  the  finest 
as  well  as  the  basest  traits  in  a  man's  character. 

Some  there  are  who  have  become  convinced  that  there  is  a 
Supreme  Being,  but  the  greater  part  of  them,  daily  viewing  the 
slaughter  that  goes  on  around  them,  doubt  if  there  is  a  God. 
Many  of  these  men  asked  me  why  it  was  I  always  found  rest  in 
my  dugout,  saying  I  no  sooner  laid  down  my  head  than  I  was 
asleep.  They  knew  I  never  took  the  rum  ration,  and  most  of 
them  knew  that  I  was  a  "Mormon,"  so  I  told  them  I  always 
offered  up  a  prayer  to  my  heavenly  Father,  committing  myself 
to  his  care,  then  laid  down  knowing  that  all  would  be  well.  I 
was  the  only  "Mormon"  in  my  regiment,  and  was  often  laughed 
at  when  telling  of  my  faith,  but  when  they  are  convinced  of  the 
fact,  a  man  of  my  belief  has  a  great  opportunity  to  preach  the 
gospel,  and  to  be  an  example,  for  his  life  is  closely  watched  by 
his  fellows. 

No  Latter-day  Saint  goes  into  this  war  without  coming  out 
stronger  in  his  faith;  having  heard  the  gospel,  he  sees  and  ex- 


812  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

periences  enough  to  convince  hini  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  it  is  the  truth.  To  him  it  is  not  supposition,  he  knows  that 
God,  the  Creator,  exists. 

I  received  my  second  wound,  in  August,  1915.  After  being 
operated  on,  I  was  sent  to  England  to  a  British  hospital.  They 
kept  me  here  some  five  months,  finally  sending  me  home  to 
Canada,  where  I  received  my  discharge  December,  1916,  which 
reads  as  follows: 

Canadian  Overseas  Expeditionary  Forces  Discharge  Certificate 

This  is  to  certify  that  No.  63460,  (Rank)  Private,  (Name  in  Full)  Jesse 
Frederick  Harrington,  enlisted  in  15th  Battalion,  Canadian  Overseas  Expe- 
ditionary Force  on  the  28  Oct.,  1914,  and  accompanied  said  unit  Overseas, 
was  returned  to  Canada  and  discharged  from  the  service  at  Esquimalt,  B.  C, 
on  the  10th  of  Dec,  1916,  in1  consequence  of  being  medically  unfit  for 
further  service,  (Result  of  wounds). 

Description  on  Discharge 

Age — 26  years.  Marks  or  scars: 

Height — 5  ft.  61/2  inches.  Scar  front  right  forearm. 

Complexion — Light.  Scar  over  front  left  leg. 

Eyes — Grey.  Birth  mark,  left  buttock. 

Hair— Fair.  Tatto,  Bumblebee  front  left  forearm 

Trade — Teamster. 

Signature  of  man 

Place  and  date,  Esquimalt,  B.  C. 

Pat  King,  Lt., 
Officer  in  charge  Discharge  Depot. 
O.  C.  J.  Unit.    M.  H.  C.  C. 
A.  D.  D. 

Canadian  Expeditionary  Forces  Discharge  Certificate 

No.  63460. 

Rank— Pte. 

Name — Harrington,  Jesse  Frederick. 

Unit — 15th  Battalion. 

Address  on  discharge: 

Care  Returned  Soldiers'  Club, 

Vancouver,  B.  C. 

His  conduct  and  character  while  in  the  service  have  been:     Very  Good. 

Campaigns:     European  War. 

Medals  and  Decorations:     France. 


Thoughts  of  a  Farmer 


By   Dr.   Joseph   M.   Tanner 


XV — Bunching  Sheep 

The  high  price  of  wool  and  mutton  is  engrossing  the 
thoughts  of  those  who  are  anxious  to  increase  the  supply  and 
thereby  to  reduce  the  cost  of  these  two  important  products  of 
the  live  stock  industry.  There  is  a  danger  and  a  waste  that  I 
find  it  constantly  difficult  to  guard  against  in  "running"  my 
sheep.  Many  sheep  are  killed  by  bunching  both  in  corrals  and 
in  coulees  or  ravines,  and  the  range.  When  sheep  are  crowded 
they  tramp  down  much  of  the  feed  which  is  thereby  wasted  to 
them.  It  has  been  found  by  experiment  that  when  sheep  are 
allowed  to  scatter  in  enclosures  that  an  acre  will  feed  as  many 
as  two  acres  when  they  are  herded  in  droves.  The  problem  of 
the  industry  is  now  becoming  one  of  fences  which  the  present 
prices  and  scarcity  of  range  will  justify.  What  is  true  of  sheep 
is  likewise  true  of  other  forms  of  live  stock,  though  in  a  lesser 
degree. 

What  about  the  bunching  of  human  beings?  There  is  like- 
wise a  danger  in  social  life  as  well  as  a  waste  from  the  crowd- 
ing of  humanity.  There  is  something  of  the  animal  instinct  in 
man.  Witness  the  manner  in  which  men,  like  sheep,  rush  head- 
long into  speculations  and  investments  good  and  bad.  We 
sometimes  call  these  investments  booms.  Too  often  the  "going- 
in"  process  is  a  boom;  the  outgoing  process,  a  panic,  often  a 
panic  worse  than  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  sheep  smothered 
in  a  corral  or  ravine.  In  either  case  the  results  are  disastrous. 
When  a  boom  is  announced  it  is  a  good  time  to  think  of  dangers 
and  waste.  The  excitement  produced  plays  upon  the  grouping 
instincts  which  carry  men  along  in  droves,  and  they  trample 
underfoot  millions  of  dollars.  In  such  a  crisis  it  is  safer  to 
graze  along  the  outskirts  aloof  from  the  herded  masses.  What- 
ever gains  a  few  may  point  to  from  bunching  the  masses,  enorm- 
ous waste  and  danger  are  certain  in  the  herd. 

Fencing  humanity  is  impossible.  Men  will  have  their  free 
agency,  and  their  socalled  freedom  is  often  more  ruinous  than 
animal  instinct.  A  woven  wire  fence  will  not  hold  men.  They 
break  down  the  safe  enclosure  and  take  their  chances.  They 
are  restless  and  always  in  a  hurry.     The  modern  business  world 


814  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

is  in  a  rush.  The  wise  shepherds  of  finance  may  cry  out,  "go 
slow."  They  are  not  heard,  and  humanity  is  in  want  of  a  shep- 
herd's dog  to  round  it  up.  The  bark  of  disaster  rarely  brings  a 
halt.  Nothing  but  a  panic  will  scatter  wild  droves  of  men.  The 
rich  pasture  and  nourishing  foliage  which  nature  has  provided 
have  been  so  wasted  that  long  periods  of  time  are  required  for 
restitution. 

In  the  distribution  of  population  the  same  mass  instinct 
appears.  People  rush  to  the  cities.  One  goes  because  another 
has  gone.  Many  harbor  the  delusion  that  they  must  be  in  the 
crowds  to  be  happy.  They  really  lose  their  freedom  both  of 
thought  and  action.  They  substitute  instinct  for  reason  and 
deliberation.  They  are  all  acting  very  much  alike.  They  tumble 
over  the  banks  of  the  coulees  together.  Places  of  allurement 
are  provided  because  it  is  easier  to  allure  masses  than  in- 
dividuals. Bunching  invites  disease,  mental  lethargy,  and  en- 
dangers moral  standing. 

The  waste  in  city  life  is  appalling.  The  young  man  when 
he  leaves  his  rural  life  for  the  city  is  dazed  by  the  thought  of 
higher  wages.  In  the  new  life  to  which  he  aspires  he  does  not 
count  the  waste  both  of  energy  and  money.  His  outlay  is  not 
measured  by  his  actual  needs,  but  by  the  standard  of  living 
which  massed  industry  sets  up  for  him  to  follow.  He  loses  in  a 
large  measure  his  identity,  his  individuality  and  initiative.  At 
home  he  might  be  a  bell  wether,  in  the  city  he  is  just  "sheep." 


M.  I.  A.  Reading  Course  Books,  1918-1919 


Points  for  reading  are  given  from  June  1,  1918,  and  should  be  credited 
in  October.  The  spare  hours  of  summer  in  the  home,  on  the  farm,  in  the 
mountains,  are  precious  moments  in  which  to  read  and  should  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  by  all  members  of  our  organization. 

Voice  of  Warning — 35c;  by  mail,  35c. 

Kings  in  Exile— Roberts,  75c;  by  mail,  85c. 

Uncle  Sam's  Boys  at  War — Austin,  $1.00;  by  mail,  $1.10. 

The  Major—  Connor,  $1.40;  by  mail,  $1.50. 

Abraliam  Lincoln — Gordy,  75c;  by  mail,  85c. 

Heroines  of  Service — Parkman,  $1.35;  by  mail,  $1.45. 

Love  and  the  Light— Whitney,  $1.25;  by  mail,  $1.25. 

Man  of  Tomorrow— Richards,  $1.00;  by  mail,  $1.10. 

Job— 10c;  by  mail,  10c. 

If  bought  singly,  all  of  the  books  will  cost  $8.55.  If  the  full  set  is  pur- 
chased,  the  cost  will  be  $8.25. 

Special.  If  you  buy  the  full  set,  and  cash  is  sent  with  the  order,  the 
complete  set  for  $7.95  postpaid,  at  the  Deseret  News  or  Sunday  School 
Union  Book  Stores,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 


Testimony^of  a  Japanese  Member  of  the 

Church 


By  G. Inonye 


[This  testimony  of  a  Japanese  member  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  is  sent  to  the  Improvement  Era  by  Elder  Val.  W.  Palmer, 
who  is  at  present  one  of  the  three  elders  laboring  at  Osaka,  Japan.  The 
author  is  quite  proficient  in  English  and  is  a  recent  convert  to  the  Church, 
and  is  an  employee  of  one  of  the  city  offices  and  an  earnest  seeker  after 
truth.  The  letter  is  written  in  his  own  hand  and  in  his  own  quaint  con- 
struction. He  studied  the  teachings  of  several  of  the  Christian  denomina- 
tions at  Osaka  but,  as  he  said,  he  "could  not  feel  satisfied,  and  faith  would 
not  appear."  He  found,  however,  what  he  wanted  in  the  revealed  word  of 
God;  and  after  an  earnest  and  humble  investigation,  he  applied  for  baptism 
and  was  duly  granted  that  blessing.  He  has  been  diligent  indeed,  since  that 
time,  we  are  told,  in  his  study  of  the  gospel,  and  in  the  promulgation  thereof 
to  his  fellow  countrymen.  We  are  sure  our  readers  will  peruse  this  testi- 
mony with  great  interest,  and  with  us  wish  our  new  brother  power  to  endure 
in  faith  to  the  end. — Editors.] 

My  Dear  Editor:  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  express  my  con- 
sideration for  the  beneficial  service  of  great  America  through  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  it  is  a  blessing  to  me,  at  least,  to  be 
able  to  express  my  consideration  for  other  nations,  even  at  this 
young  age;  and  I  believe  it  is  not  profitless  to  inform  the  distant 
Saints  of  this  aid  of  foreigners.  For  persons  who  will  have  resi- 
dence at  Zion  in  the  coming  future  will  probably  have  some 
curiosity  as  to  Japanese  opinions  about  the  doctrine  of  "Mor- 
monism."  The  people  of  your  continent  should  have  heard  or 
read  concerning  the  condition  of  Japan,  but  yet  I  believe  it  is 
interesting  to  Americans  to  know  how  a  Japanese  can  believe  the 
God  of  the  Latter-day  Saints,  and  how  he  can  continue  his  service 
in  his  society  as  a  faithful  servant  of  God. 

Now  we  are  told  Japan  might  send  troops  to  Siberia,  and  it 
is  said  that  is  a  movement  in  favor  of  both  Japan  and  allies.  It 
is  freqently  discussed  in  newspapers,  that  is,  how  can  the  allies 
rely  on  the  confidence  of  Japan  in  order  to  establish  peace  in  the 
Orient;  but  I  think  that  we  could  better  understand  this  topic, 
with  more  or  less  clarity,  concerning  the  subject  of  the  peace  of 
the  world  were  we  better  able  to  comprehend  the  Japanese 
ability  to  understand  God;  and  at  such  an  age,  I  think  it  is  most 
necessary  to  understand  or  investigate  Japanese  capacity  to  be- 
lieve God,  because  I  know  those  who  can  understand,  or  can 
believe  God,  can  understand  all  things,  even  the  peace  of  the 


816 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


world.  I  think  at  this  point  that  all  the  people  of  the  world 
should  comprehend  and  believe  the  message  sent  from  the 
heavens  by  God ;  and  the  dreadful  misfortune  of  the  world  today 
must  have  come  by  not  knowing  the  message  from  the  heavens. 
I  think  there  are  no  greater  blessings  than  to  be  faithful  to  God 
and  comprehend  each  other. 

I  have  not  had  much  experience  as  a  Saint  of  this  Church, 
having  been  a  member  only  for  the  past  five  months.  Before  I 
received  baptism  at  Osaka  I  did  not  know  the  teaching  or  influ- 
ence of  God.  Of  course,  it  is  a  blessing  to  be  able  to  search  for 
the  light  of  life  and  know  that  I  can  go  forward  in  the  unknown 
future  only  by  the  help  of  God,  and  my  experience  until  I  be- 
came a  believer  of  God  is  a  most  interesting  part  to  the  person 


The  author  and  three  elders  laboring  in  Nipon 

who  has  been  born  in  a  country  where  they  live  by  Christianity. 
The  Japanese  spirit  is  filled  up  with  ancient  Confucius 
doctrine  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  side  is  extended  Buddha's 
doctrine,  and  both  have  been  imprinted  on  the  minds  of  all  the 
nation.  The  so-called  "Bushids"  of  Japan  is,  of  course,  the 
foundation  stone  of  Japanese  spirit,  but  that  was  produced  only 
since  the  middle  epoch  of  Japan,  mixing  Confucius  doctrine  and 
"Yamato  damashi"  (national  mind  of  Japan).  Then  this  Jap- 
anese thought  is  based  on  the  realism  of  Confucius  and  the  peace 
of  mind  of  Buddha,  and  both  thoughts  have  penetrated  into  the 
mind  of  all  the  nation,  even  corroding  it.  Then  the  original 
Japanese  thought  (until  becoming  a  believer  in  God)  is  a  little 


TESTIMONY  OP  A  JAPANESE  81? 

different  to  American  or  European  ideas  and  has  a  different 
starting  point. 

Some  men  advocate  that  the  Japanese  have  capacity  to  com- 
prehend life's  meaning  easier  by  the  theories  of  philosophy  than 
by  the  love  of  Christ.  Of  course,  I  don't  believe  such  prejudice, 
but  such  certainly  is  the  inclination  of  Japanese  thought  gen- 
erally. Then  the  propagandist,  especially  of  a  foreign  country, 
must  understand  that  there  are  different  conditions  concerning 
the  growing  man  in  Japan. 

I  have  always  tried  to  explain  my  skepticism  only  by  reason- 
ing powers,  but  I  felt  the  gradual  increasing  of  sin,  and  I  felt 
the  increasing  suffering  of  a  sinner  until,  finally,  I  have  been  con- 
vinced that  man  is  weak  and  I  have  often  said  so  with  a  powerful 
testimony.  I  know  this  Church  is  right;  I  can  honestly  believe 
that  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  was  a  most  marvelous  man,  and 
I  could  discover  the  truth  only  by  his  leading;  and  I  believe  this 
Church  will  be  prosperous  in  the  coming  future. 

0  be  faithful  to  God,  all  Saints  in  America!  Even  I,  a  Jap- 
anese, am  hoping  to  struggle  in  the  favor  of  God  as  a  faithful 
servant,  and  will  seek  the  truth  always. 

I  remain,  with  respect,  your  brother, 

G.  Inonye. 
Osaka,  Japan 


Sagebrush 


A  ha^  green  upon  the  desert  floor 

Which  shimmering  dips  to  meet  the  Inland  Sea. 

The  trunks  and  branches,  rough  and  bent,  but  free, 

Are  guardians  of  a  kingdom  evermore. 

Here  drowsy  chippy  comes,  when  night  doth  lower; 

The  branches  shield  the  hare  a  hawk  did  see; 

Upon  the  twigs  swing  cradles  of  the  bee ; 

In  the  pungent  leaves,  the  grouse  has  food  in  store. 

The  wearied  Redskin  rests  beneath  its  shade, 

While  waiting  for  its  wood  to  roast  his  game ; 

Then,  with  its  bark,  he  builds  a  rough,  soft  bed. 

The  pioneers  come,  lean,  eager,  unafraid; 

With  ax  and  plow  the  desert  lands  they  tame. 

The  sagebrush  goes  and  a  nation  grows  instead. 

J.  S.  Stanford. 


Are  Men  Created  Equal? 

Individualism  is  Eternal 


By  Dr.  James  E.  Talmage,  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 


Democracy  holds  as  a  distinguishing  and  fundamental  prin- 
ciple the  recognition  of  individual  rights  and  privileges.  The 
living  units  of  a  democratic  system  are  citzens,  not  subjects.  Be- 
fore the  law,  so  far  as  it  be  administered  in  justice,  all  citizens 
are  on  a  plane  of  equality.  In  the  exercise  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise, for  example,  the  ballot  of  the  poor  man,  the  unscholarly, 
the  weak,  sick  or  maimed,  counts  just  as  much  as  that  of  the 
millionaire,  the  university  graduate,  or  the  athlete.  All  this  is 
inherent  in  democracy  as  a  political  system.  If,  through  corrupt 
administration  a  citizen  suffers  deprivation  of  his  rights,  the 
fault,  grievous  though  it  be,  is  not  chargeable  to  the  system  but 
to  the  officials  who  have  misused  the  authority  delegated  to 
them. 

In  this  sense  it  is  affirmed  in  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, as  the  first  of  the  truths  therein  set  forth  as  self-evident, 
and  as  assuring  to  all  their  inalienable  rights  "that  all  men  are 
created  equaF' ;  and  in  this  sense  the  affirmation  is  irrefutable. 
No  other  foundation  could  support  a  stable  structure  of  govern- 
ment by  the  people. 

But  it  is  manifest  folly  to  carry  this  conception  of  the  legal 
equality  of  citizenship  to  the  extreme  of  assuming  that  all  men 
are  alike  in  capacity,  ability,  or  power.  As  long  as  mankind 
live  in  communities  there  will  be  leaders  and  followers,  men  of 
prominence,  and  of  necessity  others  who  are  relatively  obscure, 
men  of  energy  and  idlers,  and  consequently  masters  and  ser- 
vants. • 

Doubtless  much  of  the  existing  disparity  among  men,  such 
as  the  inequitable  distribution  of  wealth,  the  unrighteous  acqui- 
sition of  power  and  its  iniquitous  exercise,  is  pernicious — evil  in 
the  sight  of  God  and  ominously  wrong  under  the  laws  of  man. 
Nevertheless,  attempts  to  right  such  wrongs  by  illegal  force,  and 
to  establish  a  false  equality  by  promiscuously  taking  from  one 
to  give  to  another  tend  toward  disruption  and  anarchy. 

We  are  confronted  by  this  profound  fact:  Individualism  is 
an  attribute  of  the  soul,  and  as  truly  eternal  as  the  soul  itself. 

(1)  In  the  unembodied,  preexistent  or  antemortal  state, 
we  were  decidedly  unequal  in  capacity  and  power. 

(2)  We  know  we  are  not  equal  here  in  the  world  of  mor- 
tals. 

(3)  Assuredly  we  shall  not  be  equal  after  death,  either 
in  the  intermediate  state  of  disembodiment  or  beyond  the  resur- 
rection. 

We  read  that  Jeremiah  was  chosen  from  among  his  fellows 


ARE  MEN  CREATED  EQUAL?  819 

and  ordained  before  he  was  born  to  be  a  prophet  unto  the  na- 
tions (Jer.  1:5);  and  a  similar  foreordination  is  indicated  by 
Isaiah  (49:1,5).  Abraham  definitely  avers  that  among  the  un- 
embodied  spirits  there  were  differences,  some  were  noble  and 
great  and  others  less  adapted  to  the  duties  of  rulership :  "Now  the 
Lord  had  shown  unto  me,  Abraham,  the  intelligences  that  were 
organized  before  the  world  was;  and  among  all  these  there  were 
many  of  the  noble  and  great  ones;  And  God  saw  these  souls  that 
they  were  good,  and  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  he  said: 
These  I  will  make  my  rulers"     (Pearl  of  Great  Price,  p.  65-66). 

The  God  of  spirits  recognized  particular  qualifications  in 
some,  and  selected  them  to  be  leaders  among  men.  Let  us  not 
assume  that  the  "rulers"  thus  divinely  chosen  are  necessarily 
those  whom  men  would  later  elect  to  be  their  leaders.  Many  of 
God's  great  ones  have  been  and  are  counted  among  the  despised 
of  earth.  So  it  was  with  the  Christ  Himself,  and  so  with  many 
of  His  prophets,  apostles  and  revelators  unto  mankind. 

Born  into  the  flesh  with  diverse  capacities,  subjected  here 
to  varied  environment,  which  may  be  favorable  or  opposed  to 
the  development  of  inherent  tendencies  toward  either  good  or 
evil,  we  as  a  race  are  creatures  of  disparity,  inequality,  and  het- 
erogeneous circumstance.  But  all  color  of  injustice  disappears 
in  the  light  of  assurance  that,  in  the  judgment  of  souls,  every 
condition  shall  be  weighed  in  the  accurate  balances  of  Justice 
and  Mercy. 

But  what  of  the  hereafter — shall  we  not  be  made  equal 
there?  Not  in  the  sense  that  our  individuality  shall  be  sub- 
verted or  radically  changed.  We  shall  find  beyond  more  gra- 
dations in  society  than  we  have  ever  known  on  earth.  But  the 
basis  of  classification  will  be  essentially  different.  Here  we  are 
rated  according  to  what  we  have — of  wealth,  learning,  political 
or  other  influence  due  to  circumstance;  there  we  shall  find  our 
place  according  to  what  we  really  are. 

Ponder  the  significance  of  our  Lord's  assurance  of  the 
"many  mansions"  in  the  Father's  kingdom  (John  14:1-3),  and 
consider  Paul's  summary  of  varied  glories  (1  Cor.  15:40-41). 

Through  later  Scripture  we  are  told  of  distinct  kingdoms 
or  worlds  of  graded  order,  comparable  to  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  respectively.  There  are  the  Celestial,  the  Terrestrial,  and 
the  Telestial  kingdoms,  in  which  the  souls  of  men  shall  abide 
and  serve  as  their  attainments  in  righteousness  or  their  disquali- 
fication through  sin  shall  determine.  Concerning  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Telestial  world,  the  lowest  of  the  specified  king- 
doms of  glory,  we  read:  ''For  they  shall  be  judged  according  to 
their  works,  and  every  man  shall  receive  according  to  his  own 
works,  his  own  dominion,  in  the  mansions  which  are  prepared." 
(Doctrine  and  Covenants  76:111). 


July  4,  1918 

On  January  15,  1215,  at  Runnymeade,  on  the  Thames, 
England,  was  wrested  by  the  Barons  from  King  John, 
Magna  Charta;  on  July  Fourth,  1776,  at  Faneuil  Hall,  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts,  was  signed,  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  assembled,  the  Declaration  of  Independence; 
on  July  14,  1789,  after  the  burning  speech  of  Camille  Des- 
moulins,  fell  that  hated  stronghold  of  Feudal  despotism, 
the  Bastile.    Tremendous  events! 

On  Nov.  19,  1863,  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Martyr  Pres- 
ident, made  an  immortal  speech  on  the  Field  of  Gettysburg. 
England,  France,  tKe  United  States  of  America,  each  made 
their  struggle  for  Liberty,  the  Rights  of  man.  Now,  side 
by  side,  they  battle  in  the  same  great  cause.  That  for 
which  Washington  fought,  for  which  Lincoln  yielded  up 
his  life,  is  being  tested  upon  the  blood-stained  ground  of 
Europe.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  the  liberties  of  the 
people  of  any  one  nation,  but  a  question  of  the  liberty  of 
the  world. 

Never,  then,  since  that  July  4,  1776,  has  our  country, 
not  even  during  the  great  Civil  War,  confronted  so  mo- 
mentous, so  vast  an  issue,  as  on  this  Fourth  of  July,  1918. 
The  question  of  the  ages,  the  Liberty  of  Man,  Democracy 
versus  Autocracy,  is  placed  before  us  in  most  frightful 
manner.  Millions  of  lives  have  been  sacrificed,  untold 
treasure.  And  yet  the  end  is  not  in  sight.  The  highest 
and  noblest,  the  most  base  and  terrible  of  the  passions  of 
men  have  been  aroused.  The  mind,  the  very  soul  of  hu- 
man beings,  have  been  exalted  or  appalled  at  deeds  of  hero- 
ism, or  of  those  which  seem  to  place  men  as  lower  than 
the  beasts.  The  ideal  has  been  laughed  to  scorn,  the  very 
frame-work  of  civilization  assailed,  justice,  truth  beaten  to 
the  ground.  And  yet,  out  of  the  blackness,  the  terror  of 
these  shadows,  has  come  a  light!  The  mind  of  man  may 
sink  to  the  depths,  but  it  will  rise  to  the  heights.  The  soul 
may  be  devilish  with  cruelty,  but  it  can  be  angelic  with 
sympathy,  the  cowardice  of  malevolence  can  be  met  with 
the  humanity  of  fortitude. 

On  this  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Great  Na- 
tion of  Freedom  and  of  equal  rights  to  all,  on  this  Fourth 
of  July,  1918,  let  us  look  forward  with  hope  and  determin- 
ation that  right  shall  win,  and  that  from  "these  crimson 
seas  of  war"  shall  yet  come  a  glorious  Brotherhood  of  Man, 
a  Federation  of  the  World. 

Alfred  Lambourne. 


[EDITORS*  TABLE 


In  the  Foreground  of  Fundamental  Things 


While  the  representatives  and  members  of  the  M.  I.  A.  were 
disappointed  in  not  having  the  privilege  of  listening  to  a  speech 
from  Assistant  Superintendent  B.  H.  Roberts,  at  the  annual  Con- 
ference on  June  9,  as  anticipated,  they  did  hear  from  him  by 
letter  which  was  read  by  President  Heber  J.  Grant.  His  com- 
munication, full  of  sound  doctrine,  patriotic  fervor,  comfort  and 
good  cheer,  follows  in  full.  M.  I.  A.  workers,  the  Latter-day 
Saints  and  the  people  generally  will  be  glad  to  read  and  contem- 
plate his  refreshing  epistle: 

Field  Camp,  June  6,  1918. 
President  Heber  J.  Grant, 

My  dear  Brother  Heber:  You  will  perhaps  realize  in  part 
my  very  great  disappointment  conveyed  to  you  in  the  dispatch  1 
have  just  sent  informing  you  of  the  fact  that  my  application  for 
furlough  to  attend  the  Y.  M.  and  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A.  conference  in 
Salt  Lake  City  was  denied  by  Divisional  Headquarters  of  this 
cantonment,  to  whose  decision,  we,  of  course,  cheerfully  and  re- 
spectfully submit,  no  matter  what  our  personal  disappointment 
may  be. 

I  had  desired  almost  above  all  other  things  the  opportunity 
to  have  addressed  myself  to  the  Latter-day  Saints  of  Utah  and  the 
surrounding  states  through  your  conference,  and,  for  matter  of 
that,  to  all  our  citizens  of  that  region. 

I  should  like  to  have  reported  myself  at  the  School  for  Chap- 
lains and  Approved  Chaplain*  Candidates,  recently  closed  at 
Camp  Zachary  Taylor,  and  from  which  I  have  just  returned  to 
this  point — Camp  Kearny. 

I  should  like  very  much  to  have  reported  the  145th  Field 
Artillery  (1st  Utah),  after  having  had  an  opportunity  of  putting 
them  in  contrast  with  the  thirty  odd  thousand  men  I  had  the 
privilege  of  observing  at  Camp  Taylor  and  other  camps  along 
the  route  of  my  return  journey.  You  may  be  sure  that,  in  my 
judgment,  our  Utah  regiment,  and  all  our  men  of  the  West,  did 
not  suffer  by  that  comparison. 

I  think  it  must  be  the  larger  out-door  life  of  the  West  that 
gives  the  youth  of  the  West  a  shade  the  better  of  it  in  physical 


822  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

and  healthful  appearance.  But  everywhere,  and  wherever  one 
meets  them,  east  or  west,  north  or  south,  one  feels  that  he  has  the 
right  to  be  proud  of  the  splendid  young  manhood  of  America, 
going  forth  in  our  armies  to  fight  in  the  cause  of  human  free- 
dom. It  is  high  honor  for  us — I  mean  for  our  intermountain 
states,  and  for  the  membership  of  our  Church, — that  in  all  this 
great  American  host  there  is  no  group  of  men — no  regiment — 
that  gives  promise  of  greater  soldierly  qualities — physical,  men- 
tal, moral,  or  courageous  qualities,  than  the  145th  Field  Artil- 
lery. And  of  this  regiment,  previous  to  the  late  draft  made  upon 
it  for  overseas  duty  (the  census  was  made  just  a  few  days  before 
I  left  for  the  School  of  Chaplains,  in  April) — of  this  regiment, 
then  numbering  1,313  men,  1,016  announced  themselves  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints. 

I  did  desired,  very  keenly,  to  discuss  at  the  conference  the 
present  status  of  the  world's  great  war,  its  relationship  to  the 
fulfilment  of  many  and  various  predictions  of  our  great  prophet 
of  the  New  Dispensation ;  our  own  great  Nation's  part  in  the  war, 
and  its  worthiness  to  be,  as  doubtless  it  will  be,  God's  instrument 
in  determining  the  issues  of  this  great  conflict,  and  preparing  the 
way  for  the  incoming  kingdom  of  peace  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness, when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever. 

I  did  desire,  and  very  keenly  desired,  to  point  out  to  those 
at  home,  as  well  as  to  those  enlisted  in  the  army,  that  the  im- 
portant thing  is  to  keep  thought  and  action  fixed  upon  the  great 
fundamental  things.  Fortunately  these  are  not  many  in  num- 
bers, and  not  difficult  to  understand.  About  them  there  can  be 
little  question. 

In  the  foreground  of  these  fundamental  things  is  a  sound 
faith  in  God:  in  God  as  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
of  all  things  that  in  them  are, — and  especially  as  the  Father  and 
God  of  the  children  of  men.  Also  to  be  held  and  worshiped  as 
the  sustaining  Power  of  all  that  is  in  heaven  and  earth ;  the  vital 
Force,  also,  in  and  through  all  things — the  very  Spirit  and  cause 
of  life ;  the  Intelligence — inspiring  Power — "the  Light  that  light- 
eth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world;"  and  above  all  the 
Love-Power  of  the  universe,  the  Love  that  was  manifested  in 
that,  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  Only  Begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

After  this  faith,  then  "still  stands  God's  ancient  sacrifice — 
the  upright  heart  and  pure."  "Who  shall  ascend  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord?  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart." 
"Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they  shall  see  God." 


EDITORS'  TABLE  823 

Still  stands,  also,  God's  ancient  law — the  law  written  in 
stone  by  the  finger  of  God,  and  given  to  Moses — The  Ten  Com- 
mandments, not  abrogated,  but  re-inforced  and  emphasized  by 
the  new  form  given  to  them  by  the  teaching  of  the  Christ — both 
old  and  new  forms  remaining. 

Still  also  stands  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  among  funda- 
mental things — the  power  of  God  unto  salvation — with  its  more 
than  hope  of  eternal  life  which  "God,  that  cannot  lie,  promised 
before  the  world  began."  More  than  hope?  Yea,  verily! 
With  its  assurance  of  eternal  life  to  those  who  believe  and  obey 
the  same. 

Stands,  also,  with  all  these  fundamental  things,  the  justice 
of  our  cause  in  this  world's  great  conflict — the  maintenance  of 
human  freedom;  the  perservation  of  civilization  itself;  the  up- 
holding of  a  reign  of  justice  and  honor  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  as  against  a  reign  of  brute  force;  the  maintenance  of  the 
community  conception  of  life,  as  against  the  jungle  conception 
of  life — the  rule  of  might  irrespective  of  right. 

To  discuss  these  things  and  many  others,  in  some  detail,  was 
my  hope,  now  dashed  to  the  ground.  But  I  submit  to  the  de- 
cision of  my  commanders  in  the  matter  of  my  furlough,  in  the 
spirit  of  a  good  and  true  soldier ;  and  I  shall  comfort  myself  with 
the  reflection  that  from  among  the  many  more  worthy  sons  of 
our  great  organization,  one  or  more  will  be  found  who  will  more 
profitably  occupy  the  time  and  the  attention  of  the  great  con- 
gregation that  will  be  gathered  in  the  Tabernacle  on  Sunday 
night.  Meantime,  I  shall  strive  that  night  to  be  with  you  in 
spirit.  I  shall  recall  the  great  good  achieved  by  the  organization 
with  which  I  have  been  so  long  associated,  and  in  which  I  have 
found  so  large  an  opportunity  for  service. 

That  night,  I  shall  in  my  prayer  say — God  bless  the  Young 
Men's  and  Young  Ladies'  Mutual  Improvement  Associations  of 
Zion,  with  all  the  other  auxiliary  organizations.  God  bless  their 
officers.  Especially,  0  Lord,  bless  thy  servant  President  Joseph 
F.  Smith,  thy  prophet,  seer  and  revelator  to  thy  Church,  and  the 
General  Superintendent  of  the  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improve- 
ment Associations.  Grant  to  him  freedom  from  physical  pain 
and  suffering,  may  his  days  be  full  of  peace,  and  his  life  receive 
a  fulness  of  joy;  and  preserve  him,  0  Lord,  unto  thy  people. 
Bless,  I  pray  thee,  Brother  Heber  J.  Grant,  my  fellow  yokeman 
in  the  General  Superintendency,  whom  I  love,  and  who  has  min- 
istered unto  my  soul,  and  always  sought  my  salvation;  whose 
reproofs  have  been  the  reproofs  of  a  brother  and  friend,  now 
through  many  years,  and  whose  hand  has  always  been  stretched 
out  to  help  when  the  days  were  dark,  and  the  way  seemed  closed 
up — God  bless  him  for  ever! 


824  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

And  so  all  the  brethren  of  the  General  Board,  and  the  sisters 
of  the  Young  Ladies'  General  Board,  bless  them.  And  bless  all 
Israel  in  all  their  abiding  places,  and  hasten  their  deliverance 
everywhere.  And,  0  Lord,  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will 
be  done  in  earth  as  in  heaven ;  for  thine,  indeed,  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen ! 
Truly  your  brother, 

Brigham  H.  Roberts, 
Lt.    and  Chaplain  145th  F.  A.  (1st  Utah). 


Nation- Wide  Prohibition 


The  Mutual  Improvement  Associations  placed  themselves  at 
the  front  of  western  organizations,  as  advocates  of  nation-wide 
prohibition,  when,  in  1916,  they  unanimously  adopted,  at  the 
annual  conference  in  June,  the  slogan: 

We  Stand  for  State-  and  Nation-wide  Prohibition 

The  State  has  come,  and  the  Nation  will  follow.  Hence, 
when  the  National  Dry  Federation  suggested  to  President  Heber 
J.  Grant  as  chairman  of  the  Betterment  League  to  interest  this 
state  and  her  various  organizations  further  in  the  subject,  he 
took  the  lead  and  presented  the  resolution  which  follows  to  the 
conference  of  the  M.  I.  A.  on  Sunday,  June  9.  Before  doing  so, 
he  read  to  the  large  audience  the  following  declaration  and  facts 
prepared  by  the  Federation: 

"All  our  allied  forces  for  good  are  aligning  themselves  for 
the  battle  against  liquor,  so  that  on  or  before  July  4,  anniversary 
of  another  inspired  fight  for  freedom,  there  shall  go  to  the  halls 
of  Congress  more  than  250,000  telegrams  urging,  pleading,  de- 
manding interdiction  of  intoxicants  while  men  die  and  women 
are  in  agony  for  an  ideal. 

"Victory  will  come  to  this  land  not  so  much  by  bullets  as  by 
bread.  The  cataclysmic  conflict  overseas  will  be  won  not  alone 
by  the  sword  but  by  the  sheaf.  The  war  will  not  be  won  by  a 
whim  of  fate  but  by  the  side  which  saves  most. 

"In  substantiation,  the  National  Dry  Federation  presents 
these  facts: 

"While  babes  die  and  frail  mothers  and  valiant  men  cry 
feebly  for  bread  on  the  ensanguined  fields  of  Europe,  more  than 
52,000,000  bushels  of  grain  are  wasted  annually  in  the  United 
States  in  the  manufacture  of  liquor. 

"While  the  earth  cries  aloud  for  surcease,  and  the  light  of 
life  is  denied  myriads  of  men,  millions  of  bushels  of  grain  are 


EDITORS'  TABLE  825 

sent  to  distilleries  and  brewers  in  Europe  to  form  the  dregs  of 
the  cup  of  sorrow  that  runneth  over. 

"More  than  70,000  soldiers  recently  were  recalled  from  the 
British  front  to  take  the  places,  in  munitions  works,  of  drunken 
men. 

"Brewers  in  the  United  States  use  enough  grain  annually  to 
make  5,000,000  loaves  of  bread  daily. 

"Reports  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commissions,  for  1914, 
show  that  more  than  500,000  freight  cars  were  used  to  haul 
almost  8,000,000  tons  of  liquor.  Later  reports  show  almost  sim- 
ilar conditions.  This,  when  the  world  looks  to  the  United  States 
for  the  salvation  of  humanity. 

"In  1917  the  liquor  traffic  wasted  more  than  7,000,000,000 
pounds  of  foodstuffs.  In  1917  the  liquor  traffic  wasted  the  work 
of  300,000  men.  In  1917  the  liquor  traffic  wasted  millions  in 
money,  while  other  millions  of  men  sweated  and  gave  up  their 
lives  for  all  that  humanity  holds  dear. 

"More  than  $2,000,000,000  are  spent  annually  in  the  saloons 
of  the  United  States  and  more  than  $2,000,000,000  additional  are 
lost  by  inefficiency  due  to  drink. 

"In  1917  brewers  of  the  United  States  wasted  more  than 
3,000,000  tons  of  coal.  And  then  came  the  order  for  heatless 
Mondays. 

"Almost  66,000  persons  die  in  the  United  States  yearly  from 
the  direct  effects  of  liquor;  several  times  as  many  die  from 
disease  indirectly  due  to  drink. 

"In  all  the  world  last  year  more  persons  died  because  of 
drink  than  were  slain  in  battle  on  the  English  and  French  lines. 
This  is  proved  by  data  of  insurance  companies  of  Britain  and 
the  United  States. 

"Unless  the  government  in  Washington  heeds  the  over- 
whelming cry  for  prohibition  during  the  war,  it  doubtless  will 
demand  more  heatless  days,  lightless  nights,  wheatless  days, 
meatless  days,  short  bread  rations,  scanty  food  portions  among 
the  poor,  while  there  will  be  more  food  and  fuel  riots,  with  an 
increase  of  idleness  and  crime. 

"We  ask  all  interested  individuals  to  send  three  telegraphic 
messages  to  Washington — one  to  each  of  the  United  States  sen- 
ators and  one  to  the  representative  of  the  congressional  district 
demanding  prohibition  during  the  war.  Every  organization, 
religious,  social,  civic,  philanthropic,  industrial,  commercial, 
fraternal,  educational,  every  co-ordinated  activity  of  life  is 
urged  to  send  similar  telegrams." 

President  Grant  then  presented  the  resolution,  first  explain- 
ing that  one  telegram  in  behalf  of  our  whole  membership  of 
about  80,000  young  men  and  women  would  be  sent  to  our  sen- 


826 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


ators  and  representatives  in  Congress,  expressing  the  desire  of 
the  Y.  M.  and  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A.  wherever  organized  for  nation-wide 
prohibition,  not  only  for  the  duration  of  the  war  but  forever : 

Resolution 


Whereas,  approximately  one  hundred  million  bushels  of 
cereals  are  used  annually  for  the  manufacture  of  alcohol,  thereby 
diverting  the  grain  from  use  as  a  food  product  that  is  of  inestim- 
able value  to  a  use  which  has  proven  to  be  of  incalculable 
detriment  to  the  people  now  engaged  in  war;  therefore, 

Be  it  resolved,  that  we  urgently  request  Congress  to  enact 
legislation  which  shall  prohibit  the  use  of  cereals  for  the  pur- 
poses of  manufacturing  alcoholic  beverages. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 


Messages  from  the  Missions 

In  the  Hills  of  Alabama 

Elder  Ashael  Allen  of  the  Alabama  conference  sends  the  following  pic- 
ture taken  on  the  10th  of  March  at  De  Funiak  Springs,  Florida.    "The  elders 


are  all  stalwart  workers  in  the  cause.  Left  to  right,  Carl  B.  Preece,  Vernal; 
Hay  Morrill,  Kingston;  William  G.  Piatt,  Kanarraville,  all  of  Utah;  Ray 
Fuller,  Pine,  Arizona;  Anion  Bartholomew,  North  Ogden;  Joseph  C.  Leav- 
itt,  Pine  Ariz.;  Arthur  Hendricksen,  Salt  Lake  City;  Ashael  Allen,  Chand- 
ler, Ariz.  They  are  all  blessed  with  physical,  mental  and  spiritual  quali- 
fications for  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged,  and  are  seeking  with 
energy  to  deliver  the  message  of  the  Lord  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel  in  the  Alabama  hills.  Their  aim  is  to  search  out  the  honest  in  heart, 
and  give  every  one  a  chance  to  hear  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation." 


EDITORS'  TABLE 


827 


The  Work  in  Ireland 


Writing  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  Dec.  21,  1917,  Elder  Sydney  L.  Wyatt 
says:  "We,  missionaries  laboring  in  the  'Emerald  Isle',  extend  our  greetings 
to  the  Saints  in  Zion  and  to  our  fellow  workers  throughout  our  Lord's 
vineyard.  One  of  the  most  successful  years  of  the  Irish  conference  is  just 
closing.  We  are  pleased  to  report 
a  double  increase  in  baptisms  over 
1916,  and  200  per  cent  increase 
over  the  year  1915.  When  one 
takes  into  consideration  the  fact 
that  we  have  only  three  elders 
from  Zion  now  when,  before  the 
war,  there  were  as  many  as  thirty, 
the  results  become  very  interesting. 
No  doubt  we  are  reaping  the  har- 
vest of  work  done  by  laborers  be- 
fore us.  Then,  too,  we  have  twelve 
lady  missionaries  who  aid  in  dis- 
tributing tracts  and  in  bringing  in- 
vestigators to  our  meetings.  The 
local  brethren  also  assist  in  preach- 
ing the  gospel  to  strangers  and  in 
teaching  the  Saints.  Our  meetings 
are  exceptionally  well  attended,  es- 
pecially by  investigators,  many  of 
whom  have  been  brought  to  our 
halls  by  hearing  the  gospel  preach- 
ed at  our  street  meetings.  This  war 
is  causing  a  certain  class  of  people 
to  think  soberly  and  search  for 
something  in  religion  more  stable 
than  is  offered  by  man-made  creeds;  but,  as  a  whole,  the  people  seem  to 
be  fulfilling  the  words  of  our  Savior  when  he  said,  'As  it  was  in  the  days 
of  Noah,  so  shall  it  be  also  in  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man.'  Nevertheless, 
we  are  encouraged  by  the  fact  that  the  Lord  is  gathering  more  into  his  fold 
than  were  to  be  obtained  in  the  days  of  Noah.  The  elders  of  the  Irish 
conference,  left  to  right:  Joseph  H.  Ririe,  Ririe;  Alma  Moss,  Antelope, 
Idaho;  conference  president,  Sidney  L.  Wyatt,  Wellsville,  Utah." 


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V 

School  Work  in  Tonga 

The  Latter-day  Saints  school  work  in  Tonga,  Friendly  Islands,  forms  a 
working  basis  for  our  missionary  work  here.  It  affords  a  channel  through 
which  we  can  reach  the  people  by  creating  an  interest,  through  their  chil- 
dren, in  the  work  that  we  desire  to  do  for  them.  The  "tanaki  tuuga,"  or  ex- 
amination of  the  various  schools  is  a  great  factor  for  bringing  out  the  people 
to  witness  the  little  acts  or  dialogues  called  "faiva's"  that  are  carefully  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion.  Some  people  may  wonder  at  our  laying  so  much 
stress  on  our  teaching  school;  but  a  few  facts  of  the  history  of  our  mission- 
ary work  here  will  suffice  on  this  point: 

About  1893,  some  six  or  eight  elders  were  sent  here  to  the  Tongan 
Islands  to  preach  the  gospel  to  this  people.  They  traveled  two  by  two, 
preaching  in  the  villages  where  they  could  procure  houses.  By  this  method 
during  the  eight  years  the  elders  were  here,  they  baptized  only  three  people. 
The  work  here  was  then  abandoned  for  the  time  being;  but  when  it  was 


828 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


again  started  under  the  direction  of  the  Samoan  Mission,  the  elders  were 
instructed  to  teach  English  in  schools  and  try  and  get  out  among  the  people 
as  best  they  could.  The  result  has  been  that  now  the  Islands  are  under  a 
separate  mission  president  and  the  work  growing  very  rapidly.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  children  who  attend  these  schools 


eventually  join  with  us,  and  the  others  always  have  a  warm  spot  for  the 
Lord's  work  here.  The  school  represented  in  this  picture  is  being  conducted 
in  Houma,  being  established  here  in  September,  1917.  There  are  also 
shown  a  few  children  from  the  Faahefa  school.  At  the  left  of  the  picture 
is  Elder  Elmer  Fullmer,  Abraham,  Utah,  and  standing  on  the  right  is  Elder 
Francis  L.  Clark,  Eden,  Utah,  under  whose  direction  the  school  is  con- 
ducted.— Elder  Charles  J.  Langston. 

A  Spirit  of  Brotherly  Love 

Elder  L.  D.  Wilde,  Columbia,  S.  C,  May  13 :  The  elders  here  are  few 
in  numbers  and  range  in  years  from  17  to  24.  We  rejoice  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord,  are  united,  and  a  spirit  of  brotherly  love  exists  among  us.  We 
are  using  every  effort  to  invite  all  to  become  partakers  of  the  true  plan  of 
salvation  so  that  they  may  enjoy  the  gifts  and  blessings  promised  to  the 
believers.  Shortly  after  a  recent  conference  we  held  at  Columbia,  one  of 
the  attendants  who  is  not  a  Latter-day  Saint,  said:  "You  'Mormons'  are 
different  from  any  people  I  have  ever  seen.  I  have  watched  you  very 
closely,  and  find  a  spirit  of  brotherly  love  among  you  which  I  find  among 
no  other  people.  You  all  seem  to  be  one  large  family."  That  is  true;  and 
our  religion  has  made  us  so.  We  are  following  the  example  of  Jesus  who 
said,  "by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  for 
one  another." 

The  elders  laboring  here  are:  J.  E.  Deaton,  local;  W.  G.  Raymond, 
Smithfield;  L.  N.  Barber,  Centerville,  Utah;  J.  A.  Hancock,  Eden,  Ariz.; 
J.  S.  Wade,  Stone,  Idaho;  W.  A.  Silver,  Salt  Lake  City;  D.  E.  Arave,  Shelley, 
Idaho;  F.  B.  Hansen,  Salt  Lake  City;  J.  L.  Hancock,  Eden,  Ariz.;  L.  D. 
Wilde,  Croydon,  Utah;  President  Evan  J.  Larson,  Snowflake,  Ariz.;  T.  C. 
Sutton,  Salt  Lake  City;  J.  H.  Sparks,  Dingle;  D.  N.  Hansen,  Teton,  Idaho; 
J.  H.  Smart,  Roosevelt,  Utah. 


EDITORS'  TABLE 
Many  Books  Sold 


829 


Group  of  Elders  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference  of  the  Southern 
States  Mission:  Back  row,  left  to  right:  M.  C.  Wiser,  Lewiston;  C.  L. 
Singleton,  Hooper;  J.  E.  Rich,  Ogden;  C.  F.  Gardner,  Pine  Valley,  Utah; 
W.  Mouritsen,  Bennington,  Idaho;  J.  Evans,  Ogden;  W.  A.  Bowler,  Shelley, 


Idaho.  Center  row:  C.  J.  "White,  Teton,  Idaho;  G.  A.  Bean,  LaGrande, 
Oregon;  incoming  president,  J.  M.  Stephens,  Jr.,  Ogden;  retiring  president, 
W.  T.  Bailey,  Idaho  Falls,  Idaho;  H.  Blackburn,  Penrose,  Wyo.;  E.  B. 
Allred,  Boise,  Idaho.  Front  row:  J.  I.  Huskinson,  Teton,  Idaho;  H.  R. 
Pond,  Lewiston;  W.  R.  Evans,  Boneta;  W.  C.  Wald,  Morgan,  Utah.  Elder 
J.  M.  Stephens,  Jr.,  writes:  "We  feel  that  during  the  past  year  we  have 
accomplished  much  in  proclaiming  the  truth  in  this  part  of  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard. We  have  sold  751  Books  of  Mormon,  8,885  small  books,  65  standard 
Church  works,  have  distributed  145,740  tracts,  and  held  1,487  meetings, 
during  the  year  of  1917.  We  have  also  baptized  87  people  into  the  fold  of 
Christ." 

Elders  Before  a  Y.  M.  A.  in  Japan 

J.  Ray  Stoddard  writes  from  4  Tachibana  Cho,  Kofu  Shi,  Yamanashi 
Ken,  Japan,  as  follows:  "Having  been  invited  to  lecture  at  the  Asakami 
village's  young  men's  association,  we  gladly  accepted.  Soon  after  Sunday 
school  exercises  were  completed,  on  the  morning  of  May  5,  we  went  by 
train,  about  one-half  of  the  way  on  our  journey.  A  horse-carriage  took  us 
along  another  portion  of  the  way,  but  as  the  road  became  more  narrow  and 
rough  we  proceeded  to  walk  the  last  quarter  of  the  distance.  By  the  aid 
of  our  guide,  we  followed  one  of  the  several  narrow  trails  through  the 
garden-like  fields  and  beautiful  nature-colored  mountains;  and  at  3  p.  m. 
arrived  at  the  pretty  little  mountain  village.    Here  we  were  greeted,  enter- 


830  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

tained  and  fed  by  the  highest  officials  of  the  place.  A  few  minutes  later 
we  found  ourselves  on  reserved  seats  before  an  audience  of  old,  middle  aged 
and  young,  numbering  seven  hundred  and  fifty  souls. 

"Three  long  breaths  were  taken  on  the  safety-first  plan,  as  Mr.  I.  Hara,  a 
native,  gave  a  stirring  introductory  speech  which  was  followed  with  vocal 
music  by  elders  and  applause  from  the  house.  Elder  Bryan  L.  Wright  next 
favored  the  audience  with  a  fifteen-minute,  well  rendered  native  tongue 
lecture  on  the  subject,  'The  Physical  Man,'  which  was  greatly  enjoyed  by 
all  present;  next  Elder  Jos.  S.  Pyne  spoke  English  for  some  ten  minutes,  on 
'The  Word  of  Wisdom;'  this  being  given  in  a  foreign  tongue,  was  a  source 
of  pleasure  and  quite  a  novelty,  as  a  large  number  of  those  assembled  had 
never  before  heard  a  foreign  language  spoken.  As  the  applause  silenced 
Elder  J.  Ray  Stoddard  translated  into  more  understandable  terms  the  previ- 
ously rendered  sermon.  Instrumental  music  by  Elder  Wright  occupied  a 
few  minutes,  followed  by  Elder  Stoddard  with  a  twenty-minute  talk  on  'The 
Mental  Man.'  Some  closing  remarks  by  one  of  the  town  officials  ended  the 
meeting. 


"This  kodak  picture  is  of  one  of  the  two  Sunday  schools  of  this  branch. 
Elders,  left  to  right:  Jos.  S.  Pyne,  Provo;  Conference  President  J.  Ray  Stod- 
dard, Richmond;  Bryan  L.  Wright,  Ogden,  Utah." 

"We  were  next  entertained  at  a  table  social  gathering,  one  hundred  mem- 
bers of  the  Young  Men's  association  present;  refreshments,  congratulations, 
and  also  questions  pertaining  to  our  homes,  cities,  states,  country  and  our 
first  impressions  of  Japan  came  pouring  in  a  good  deal  more  rapidly  than 
they  could  be  taken  care  of.  This  meeting  closed  with  more  thanks,  and 
an  invitation  to  come  again;  then  we  were  escorted,  by  three  gentlemen,  to 
a  larger  town  hotel  where  we  again  received  nourishment.  Later  we  went 
viewing  the  sights  of  the  children's  festival;  an  arrangement  and  care  of  dolls 
for  the  girls,  intended  to  instil  into  their  lives  the  importance  of  virtuous 
motherhood.     For  the  boys,  large  paper  or  cloth-made  fish  floating  in  the 


EDITORS'  TABLE 


831 


breeze  from  the  tops  of  tall  flagpoles,  representing  fish  going  against  the 
current,  this  to  encourage  the  boys  to  work  diligently  even  if,  at  times,  odds 
are  against  them. 

"In  larger  towns  and  cities  two  celebrations  are  held,  one  for  the  girls 
and  the  other  for  the  boys;  however,  in  small  country  places  they  are  often 
combined. 

"The  gentlemen  remained  with  us  the  entire  evening  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  paid  all  expenses  and  escorted  us  a  few  miles  on  our  home- 
ward journey. 

"As  was  previously  stated,  we  were  invited  to  lecture;  no  subjects  were 
suggested  to  us;  however,  we  were  informed  that  no  church  doctrine  of 
any  kind  would  be  allowed,  as  the  building  in  which  the  meeting  was  to  be 
held,  was  a  government  school  building,  and  the  school  laws  were  to  that 
effect.  Realization  came  to  us,  however,  that  if  any  beneficial  topic  what- 
soever be  discussed  it  would  of  necessity  be  a  portion  of  our  Church  doc- 
trine, therefore  we  proceeded  to  discuss  the  subjects  before  mentioned. 

"I  am  thankful  to  be  a  member  and  an  ambassador  of  a  Church  whose 
doctrines  include  all  goodness  and  all  truth.  It  is  a  religion  for  every  occa- 
sion, and  although  at  times  we  may  not  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  applying 
the  name,  yet  it  is  the  truth  of  the  gospel  of  Christ: 

"  'We  believe  in  being  honest,  true,  chaste,  benevolent,  virtuous, 
and  in  doing  good  to  all  men,  indeed  we  may  say  that  we  follow  the 
admonition  of  Paul,  'We  believe  all  things,  we  hope  all  things.'  We 
have  endured  many  things  and  hope  to  be  able  to  endure  all  things. 
If  there  is  anything  virtuous,  lovely  or  of  good  report  or  praiseworthy, 
we  seek  after  these  things.' 


Conditions    in    Sweden 

Writing  from  the  Norrkoping  conference,  Sweden,  Verner  L.  Strom- 
berg,  Salt  Lake  City,  John  W.  Carlson,  Logan,  and  Peter  Anderson,  Salt 
Lake  City,  president  of  the  conference, 
send  their  greetings  to  friends  at 
home  and  to  readers  of  the  Era: 
"Under  the  disturbed  conditions 
caused  by  the  war,  the  Era  is  indeed 
a  true  friend,  and  we  are  always  anx- 
ious to  get  it.  The  g;>od  spirit  and  in- 
fluence which  it  radiates  is  a  great! 
encouragement  to  us.  The  war  has 
reduced  the  number  of  elders  in  this 
conference  to  three.  We  have  two 
active  branches  and  a  Sunday  School, 
public  services  are  held  regularly  with 
good  attendance  of  Saints  and  friends. 
Notwithstanding  our  isolation,  we  feel 
that  the  Lord  has  blessed  us.  We 
have  seen  the  fruits  of  our  labors,  in 
connection  with  those  of  the  elders 
who  preceded  us,  and  prospects  for 
the  work  seem  bright.  The  govern- 
ment has  fixed  the  maximum  price 
upon  all  food  products,  and  these  are 
all  controlled  by  the  government. 
This  action  gives  the  poorer  people  a 
fairer   chance  for  existence." 


MUTUAL 
WORK 


Plan  for  Summer  Workj 

Suggesive  Programs  for  Sunday  Evening  Joint  Sessions  and  for 
Special  M.  I.  A.  Gatherings  or  Rallies 

THIRTEEN 
Sunday  Evening  Joint  Session,  August  4 
General  Subject:     "Religious  Forces  that  Have  Influenced  Nations." 
Great  Migrations 
1.     Opening  hymn,  "Israel,  Israel,  God  is  Calling." 


Prayer. 

3.  "The  Pilgrims'  Chorus"  (From  Afar,  Gracious  Lord,  S.  S.  Song  Book). 

4.  Great  Migrations. 

a.  The  Exodus  from  Egypt. 

b.  Coming  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

c.  Journey  of  Modern  Israel  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

5.  Readings,  "The   Breaking  Waves   Dashed   High,"  by   Mrs.   Hemans;    or 

"The  Utah  Pioneers"  (See  Young  Woman's  Journal,  July,  1917;  Era, 
July,  1916). 

6.  Closing  hymn,  "Come,  Come,  Ye  Saints." 

FOURTEEN 
Patriotic  Rally  or  Special  Gathering,  Tuesday  Evening,  August  13 
General  Subject:     "Our  Allies." 

Italy 

1.  Opening  song,  "Land  of  the  Free."  i 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Song,  "Santa  Lucia." 

4.  Our  Ally,  Italy. 

a.  Italy'6  part  in  the  great  war. 

b.  Great  Italian  leaders. 

c.  Display  and  explanation  of  the  flag. 

5.  Reading,  "To  the  Young  Men  of  Italy"  (See  "Battle  Line  of  Democracy" 

p.  132).  " 

6.  Song,  "Juanita." 

7.  Mixed  quartet,  "O,  Italia,  Italia  Beloved." 

FIFTEEN 

Patriotic  Rally  or  Special  Gathering,  Tuesday  Evening,  August  27 
General  Subject:     "National  Efficiency." 

The  Nation  In  Arms 

1.  Opening  hymn,  "Star  Spangled  Banner." 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Songs  of  Home  and  Country.  j 
a.    "Meaning  of  the  U.  S.  A,," 


MUTUAL  WORK 


833 


b.  "Old  Folks  at  Home." 

c.  "Dixie." 

"The  Nation  in  Arms"  (See  No.  2,  "War  Information  Series"). 

a.  America's  answer  to  the  call. 

b.  Value  of  army  discipline. 

c.  The  home  army. 

Reading,  "The  Meaning  of  the  Flag"  (See  "Battle  Line  of  Democracy,'' 

p.  37). 
Closing  song,  "The  Flag  Without  a  Stain." 


Annual  Report  of  M.  I.  A.  Scouts,  Year  Ending  May  31,  1918 

Troops  registered  183,  an  increase  of  27;  scout  masters  registered,  183, 
an  increase  of  27;  assistant  scout  masters  registered,  158,  an  increase  of  2. 
Scouts  registered,  3,705,  an  increase  of  744 ;  number,  of  scouts  doing  scout 
work  but  not  registered,  2,162,  an  increase  of  662 ;  total  number  of  scouts, 
registered  and  unregistered,  5,867. 

There  are  16  stakes  with  no  registered  scouts,  a  decrease  from  last  year 
of  10.  Out  of  these  16  stakes,  only  five  are  doing  no  scout  work.  There 
are  three  stakes  in  the  Church  that  have  not  had  registered  scouts  during 
the  past  five  years.  We  have  22  registered  scouts  in  Chicago,  and  14  in 
Bisbee,  not  included  in  the  above  total  of  registered  troops.  The  yearly 
report  of  the  National  Organization  show  that  there  are  more  scouts  in 
Utah,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  than  in  any  other  state.  This  has 
been  the  case  during  the  past  five  years,  the  number  being  one  scout  to 


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every  137  people.  The  nearest  to  Utah  is  Connecticut,  with  147  scouts; 
Idaho  is  the  third  state,  with  178.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  registered  boys  in 
Idaho  are  M.  I.  A.  Scouts.  In  Utah  we  have  46  college  men,  51  high  school 
men,  and  29  men  with  grammar  school  education,  acting  as  scout  officials. 
We  have  46  married  scout  masters,  with  boys  of  their  own,  and  42  married 
6COUt  masters  with  no  boys,  and  40  officials  who  are  single. 

The  Scoutmasters'  Association  of  Salt  Lake  City  is  doing  a  splendid 


834  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

work.     They  meet   regularly  twice  a  month,  and  the   attendance  has  been 
good  during  the  year.     It  gives  the  new  men  a  chance  to   get  acquainted 
with  the  scout  program.       The  Honor  Committee  connected  with  the  asso- 
ciation meets  regularly  once  a  month.     This  committee  is  quite  an  incentive 
for  the  boys  to  advance  through  the  different  grades.     Scout  masters   gen- 
erally are  now  sending  their  boys  to  this  Honor  Committee  .for  examina- 
tions.    The  Scoutmasters'  Association  at  Ogden  has  been  reorganized.     .    .    . 
In  Salt  Lake  the  scouts  are  used  very  often  by  city  officials  in  doing 
special  work,  such  as  holding  the  lines  during  the  parades,  acting  as  ushers 
for  public  functions,  and  other  work  that  the  Mayor  has  especially   asked 
them  to  perform.     The  scouts  did  excellent  work  in  the  Liberty  Loan  Cam- 
paigns as  well  as  in  the  Thrift  Stamp  Campaign  and  in  the  distribution  of 
government  literature.     During  these  war  times  the  scouts,  throughout  Utah, 
have  been  asked  to  take  part  in  all  the  different  phases  of  war  work.     It  is 
very  difficult  to   retain  our  scout  masters,  as   the  younger  men   are   being 
called  into  the  army,  and  it  is  becoming  more  difficult  all  the  time  to  replace 
them.    We  are  now  making  a  campaign  for  older  men  to  take  charge  of  the 
scout  work  at  least  during  the  war.     In  the  opinion  of  S.  A.  Moffat,  Field 
Instructor  of  the  National  Organization,  men  of  35  to  40  years  of  age  with 
boys  of  their  own  are  the  most  successful  leaders.    Ward   Scout  organiza- 
tions should  be  kept  registered  during  these  war  times,  if  for  no  other  reason 
than   a   patriotic   one.       The   government   is   asking   the   boys   through   the 
National  Organization  to  do  very  important  work,  but  this  request  and  the 
material   to    carry   out   the   Government's   desires   come    only   to   registered 
scouts.     It  seems  to  me  that  troops  should  be  kept  re-registered  and  new 
troops  registered,  even  if  some  of  the  presiding  brethren  in  the  wards  have 
to  assume  temporarily  the  position  of  scout  master,  so  that  there  will  be  a 
line  of  communication  from  the  government  to  the  boys.     These  men  could 
be  readily  replaced  at  any  time  by  other  men,  or,  at  the  end  of  the  war,  by 
the  returning  soldiers.    Most  of  our  stake  presidents  and  bishops  are  in  har- 
mony with  the  scout  work  in  a  general  way,  but  there  is  a  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  good  that  can  be  done  through  the  organization  by  proper  leadi 
ership.     The  scoutmaster  comes  in  such  close  touch  with  the  boy  that  unless 
he  is  a  boy  leader,  he  cannot  accomplish  what  he  should  accomplish  through 
the  scout  program.     A  man  who  can  guide  twenty  or  thirty  boys  in  their 
play  and  recreation  and,  while  doing  so,  impress  upon  them  the  necessity 
of  giving  service  to  their  Church,  and  living  in  conformity  with  the  princi- 
ples of  the  gospel,  is  doing  a  sufficiently  valuable  work  that  should  entitled 

him  to  some  relief  from  other  ward  duties 

The  general  reports  that  we  get  from  the  stakes  and  wards  are  that 
scout  work  is  proving  a  great  benefit  to  the  boys  who  become  better  boys 
because  of  their  scout  training. 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  H.  Taylor, 
M.  I.  A.  Scout  Commissioner. 


Advanced  Senior  Class  Study,  1918-19 

The  General  Boards  have  decided  upon  the  subject,  "How  to  Lessen 
Contributions  to  Crime,"  for  the  Advanced  Senior  Class  for  1918-19.  A  list 
of  the  lessons  for  each  month,  from  October,  1918,  to  March,  1919  inclusive 
are  here  given.  The  aim  of  the  lessons,  and  the  general  plan  of'procedure' 
tor  preparing  the  lessons  are  also  noted,  for  the  benefit  of  officers  and 
teachers: 


MUTUAL  WORK  835 

How  to  Lessen  Contributions  to  Crime 

I.  Aim  of  the  Lessons: 

(a)  The  awakening  of  universal  interest  in  making  our  communities 

safe  for  righteousness. 

(b)  The  marshaling  of  all  our  forces  against  the  inventions  of  vice. 

(c)  The  recognition  of  our  religion  as  the  deciding  factor  in  the  con- 

flict. 

II.  Plan  of  Procedure  in  Preparing  and  Teaching  the  Lessons: 

(a)     Each  lesson  will  be   a   treatment   of  a  topic  under  the   following 
heads: 

1.  A  survey  of  the  contribution  of  this  evil  to  crime. 

2.  A  survey  of  the  forces  marshaled  by  this  evil. 

3.  A  survey  of  the  forces  that  may  be  marshaled  against  this  evil. 

4.  The  mobilizing  and  marshaling  of  the  forces  against  this  evil. 

5.  The  plan  of  attack  against  the  evil. 

III.  List  of  Lesson  Topics: 

1.  For  October.  4.     For  January. 

1.  Public  Indifference.  10.     Ignorance. 

2.  Lack  and  Laxity  of  Law.  11.     Indolence. 

3.  The  Cigarette.  12.     Unrighteous  Ambition. 

2.  For  November.  5.     For  February. 

4.  Social  Clique.  13.     Sentimental  Sanction  of  Sin 

5.  Card  Playing.  14.     Extravagance. 

6.  Public  Dance.  15.     Weakness  of  the  Public  Will 

3.  For  December.  6.     For  March. 

7.  Poverty.  16.     Pleasure  Worship. 

8.  Luxury.  17.     Sabbath  Breaking. 

9.  Greed.  18.     Civic  Slothfulness. 


Statistical  Report  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 

From  General  Secretary  Moroni  Snow's  annual  statistical  report  of  the 
Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  which  includes  75  stakes,  it  appears  that  there  are  747  associa- 
tions in  the  Church,  an  increase  of  2  during  the  year. 

The  total  enrollment  is  33,361,  an  increase  of  3,006  for  the  year  1918. 
This  increase  is  due  mostly  to  the  advanced  senior  classes  instituted  a  year 
ago,  and  which  have  an  enrollment  of  3,663. 

There  were  16,919  enrolled  in  the  senior  classes,  a  decrease  of  1,527. 
When  we  consider  that  we  have  approximately  11,000  young  men  of  the 
"Mormon"  Church  enlisted  in  the  government  service  in  the  Great  War, 
6,164  of  whom  are  members  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.,  our  decrease  really  shows 
a  large  increase. 

In  the  junior  classes  there  were  11,788  enrolled  for  1918,  as  against  11,909 
for  the  year  before  which  shows  a  decrease  of  121,  the  decrease  being  due 
undoubtedly,  to  promotion  into  the  senior  classes. 

The  average  attendance  in  all  classes  for  1918  was  17,247,  as  against 
16,908,  for  1917,  or  an  increase  of  339. 

There  are  865  of  our  membership  on  missions,  an  increase  of  201. 

The  record  of  the  scouts  is  given  in  another  paragraph,  but  from  the 
annual  report  it  appears  that  we  have  2,161  doing  scout  work  who  are  not 
registered,  aside  from  the  nearly  4,000  who  are  registered  with  the  National 
Organization. 

The  total  number  of  members  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  actually  taking  part 
in  M.  I.  A.  activities  was  15,188. 


836  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Nine  hundred  juniors  passed  the  first  year's  course;  433,  the  second 
year's  course;  and  500,  the  third  year's  course.  In  all  these  three  there  is 
a  decrease  respectively  of  430,  180,  156. 

There  were  6,189  young  men  who  read  one  or  more  or  all  of  the 
Reading  Course  books  which  shows  »  decrease  of  1,736,  a  result  laid  also  to 
the  absence  of  so  many  of  our  young  men  in  the  Government  service.  The 
Era  subscriptions  show  an  increase  ever  1917  of  3,499. 

There  are  198  vocational  counselors  doing  active  service,  an  increase  of 
35  for  the  past  year. 

Reports  have  also  been  received  from  the  California,  Hawaiian,  New 
Zealand,  Northern  States,  Samoan,  and  Southern  States  missions,  showing 
61  associations  with  a  total  membership  of  2,508  and  an  average  attendance 
of  1,555;  83  of  the  members  are  in  the  service  of  their  country  and  5  are 
on  missions.  The  total  number  of  meetings  held  in  these  organizations  was 
2,387.  Four  hundred  and  thirty  actually  took  part  in  M.  I.  A.  activities.  In 
California  and  the  Northern  States  there  are  36  M.  I.  A.  scouts  registered 
with  the  National  Organization,  and  22  doing  scout  work  who  are  not  reg- 
istered. 


The  Improvement  Era 

The  stakes  named  have  5%  or  more  of  their  Church  population  as  sub- 
scribers for  the  Era,  Vol.  21: 

1.  Kanab  9.00  15.  San  Juan  5.77 

2.  Maricopa    8.76  16.  Idaho  5.71 

3.  Alberta 8.57  17.  St.  Johns  5.64 

4.  Big  Horn  7.83  18.  Shelley    5.59 

5.  Uintah  7.71  19.  Union    5.44 

6.  Raft  River 7.21  20.  Tintic 5.38 

7.  Taylor  6.87  21.  Ogden   5.24 

8.  Cassia    6.64  22.  Box  Elder  5.24 

9.  Carbon    6.57  23.  Morgan  5.14 

10  Snowflake 6.50  24.  Bannock  5.08 

11.  Deseret 6.49        25.  Curlew    5.05 

12.  St.   Joseph   6.02         26.  Millard   5.03 

13.  Bear  Lake  5.92  Total 26 

14.  Oneida    5.82  Last  Year  14 

These  stakes  have  from  four  per  cent  to  five  per  cent  for  Vol.  21. 

1.  Moapa    4.84         8.  Hyrum 4.50 

2.  Yellowstone  4.81         9.  San  Luis  4.48 

3.  Blackfoot  4.79         10.  Star  Valley 4.48 

4.  No.  Weber  4.78         11.  Granite  4.30 

5.  Bingham  4.71         12.  No.  Davis  4.01 

6.  Wasatch    4.71  Total 12 

7.  Fremont   4.69  Last  Year  11 

We  return  thanks  to  all  the  workers  and  sincere  appreciation  for 
their  highly  prized  labors.  Wherever  all  heads  of  families  in  a  ward 
were  visited  by  a  spirited  officer  or  member  in  the  interest  of  the  Era, 
the  result  was,  "Over  the  Top."  We  hope  all  the  stakes  and  wards  will 
try  the  experiment  for  Vol.  22,  beginning  Nov.  1918.  Results  arei  sure 
to  follow.     Start  in  September. 


MUTUAL  WORK:  837 

General  Fund 

These  stakes  have  paid  one  hundred  per  cent  or  more  for  the  general 
fund  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 

1.  Boise  151.9 

2.  Ogden  118.3 

3.  Curlew 115.9 

4.  St  Joseph  114.8 

5.  Portneuf  111.4 

6.  Uintah    109.4 

7.  Millard  107.2 

8.  Blackfoot  106.6 

9.  Idaho  104.8 

10.  Maricopa 102.9 

We  are  sincerely  thankful  to  the  officers  of  these  stakes  and  trust  that 

others  seeing  their  good  work  will  add  fifty  more  stakes  to  this  list  by 
the  end  of  December,  1918.  It  will  help  the  good  work  to  thrive.  Notice 
the  large  stakes  that  are  up  to  and  above  the  requirement.  You  can  do 
as  well. 


11.  Cassia 

101.3 

12.  Kanab  

101.2 

13.  Big  Horn 

14.  Box  Elder  

15.  Cache  

100 

100 

100 

16.  Deseret  

..  100 

17.  North  Davis  

18.  Salt  Lake  

19.  Tintic  

100 

100 

100 

20.  Yellowstone    

100 

Enrollment  in  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 

These   stakes  have   ten   per   cent   or  more   of   their   church   population 
in  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 

1.  Big  Horn  15.1         16.  Box  Elder 11.3 

2.  Maricopa    15.0         17.  Deseret   11.3 

3.  Bear  River 14.2  "***  18.  Raft  River  11.3 

4.  Portneuf  13.8  ^     19.  Kanab  11.1 

5.  Shelley    13.6        20.  Uintah    11.0 

6.  San  Juan 13.5         21.  Snowflake  10.9 

7.  Wayne  13.4        22.  Teton    10.8 

8.  Cassia    13.3        23.  Duchesne   10.6 

9.  St  George  12.6        24.  Millard  10.5 

10.  Morgan  12.1  25.  South  Sanpete  10.4 

11.  Curlew    12.0  26.  Tintic    10.2 

12.  Oneida    11.8  27.  Benson   10.1 

13.  Blackfoot  11.7  28.  Cache    10.1 

14.  Hyrum    11.6  29.  Union    10.0 

15.  Idaho  j 11.5 

The  average  of  the  church  is  9  per  cent. 


The  Gold  Star  in  the  Service  Flag 

In  our  service  flag,  a  new  star  gleams, 

Woven  of  all  our  hopes  and  dreams, 

And  contemplated  by  our  tears 

For  the  boy's  feet  that  marched  away; 

And  the  eager  hearts  are  stilled  today. 

But  Star  Divine  shall  ever  shine 

To  tell  the  world  that  boy  of  mine 

Chose,  with  gallant  courage  bold, 

To  win  for  us  the  Star  of  Gold: 

For  he  who  arms  at  his  Country's  need, 

Though  slain  in  battle,  lives  in  deed. 

Maud  Baggarley 


Bagtiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 


t>ASSING    EVENTS 


The  first  shell  shock  victim  to  return  to  Utah  is  Edward  Moore,  a  native 
of  Utah,  who  enlisted  in  Canada,  January  8,  1915.  He  was  born  in  Lehi, 
Utah. 

The  Railroad  administration  at  Washington,  May  19,  approved  the  ex- 
penditure of  $937,691,318  for  additions,  betterments,  and  new  equipment  for 
the  railways  of  the  country. 

Major  Raoul  Lufbery,  a  famous  American  "Ace"  who  had  destroyed 
eighteen  enemy  aeroplanes  was  killed  on  the  western  front  May  19  in  a  fight 
with  a  German  armored  biplane. 

Marine  casualties  among  the  American  marines  from  the  day  of  landing 
overseas  to  June  9  totaled  717,  and  included  106  killed  in  action,  553  wound- 
ed, 58  died  of  wounds,  one  missing  and  one  prisoner. 

The  total  subscriptions  to  the  third  Liberty  Loan  was  reported  as 
$4,170,019,160 — an  oversubscription  of  39  per  cent.  Utah's  quota  was  $10,- 
315,000,  and  the  subscription  in  round  figures  was  $12,500,000. 

An  Austrian  drive  on  the  Italian  front  began  June  17,  and  crucial  en- 
gagements were  being  fought  on  the  days  following,  the  Italians  bravely 
holding  their  positions,  and  inflicting  heavy  casualties  on  the  enemy. 

Major-General  Hunter  L.  Liggett  now  commands  the  American  Forces 
in  the  field  in  France,  standing  next  to  General  Pershing,  in  rank,  and  will 
doubtless  command  the  first  American  field  army  when  it  is  organized. 

An  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  witnessed  on  the  Salt  Lake  meridian  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  8.  The  day  was  clear  in  Salt  Lake  City  and  thousands 
ot  citizens  and  visitors  at  the  M.  I.  A.  conference  were  privileged  to  witness 
a  phenomena  of  rare  occurrence. 

The  new  registration  of  young  men  who  have  attained  the  age  of  21 
since  the  former  registration,  shows  that  a  grand  total  of  2,467  were  reg- 
istered  June  5  in  the  state  of  Utah  for  military  service.  It  was  stated  in  the 
press  that  there  were  744,985  registrants  in  the  whole  country. 

Col.  Alfred  Hasbrouck  who  has  commanded  the  20th  Infantry  at  Fort 
Douglas  has  been  relieved  and  will  proceed  to  Manila  soon  as  his  orders 
arrive.  Captain  J.  H.  Stern  became  post  commander  at  the  Fort  on  the 
departure  of  the  20th  to  a  concentration  camp  in  the  middle  west.  Infor- 
mation from  Camp  Lewis  Washington,  conveys  the  word  that  on  June  18, 
Colonel  Wm.  H.  Jordan,  362nd  Infantry,  had  been  assigned  to  command  the 


Nova  Aquila,  1918,  is  the  name  given  the  new  star  discovered  June  8. 


PASSING  EVENTS  839 

It  is  said  to  belong  to  the  Milky  Way  stars,  which  on  earth  are  about  4,000 
light  years  distant. 

Charles  R.  Wilson,  Co.  B,  2nd  Bn.  U.  S.  G.  N.  A.,  Fort  Sam  Houston, 
San  Antonio,  Texas,  writes:  "I  love  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  because  it 
is  practical,  vital,  true,  a  light  in  darkness,  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  *i  love  it 
for  its  spirituality,  simplicity  and  its  blessed  plan  for  the  salvation  of  the 
divine  spirit.  It  is  a  faith  that  has  cemented  closer  the  relationship  of  my 
wife  and  children  and  myself.  I  love  the  people  because  of  their  noble 
sacrifices  for  their  religion." 

Lloyd  Burt  Haight,  Trenton,  Cache  county,  Utah,  was  on  the  transport 
President  Lincoln  when  it  was  torpedoed,  on  the  31st  of  May,  and  twenty- 
three  men  were  lost.  Mr.  Haight  gave  his  life  for  his  country.  He  enlisted, 
June  23,  1917,  at  the  Salt  Lake  recruiting  office  as  a  landsman,  and  was  sent 
to  the  Pacific  coast  to  train,  was  then  transferred  to  duty  across  the  ocean. 
Mr.  Haight  was  born  at  Hiawatha,  Utah,  and  leaves  a  widow  at  Trenton. 
He  was  a  painter  and  photographer  and  was  twenty-six  years  old. 

The  Latter-day  Saints  school  convention  was  held  in  Salt  Lake  City  in 
the  early  part  of  June.  Among  resolutions  passed  was  one  pledging  the 
teachers  of  the  Church  school  system  to  be  in  favor  of  such  legislation  as 
will  provide  adequate  free  medical  attention  for  all  children  of  school  age 
so  far  as  such  medical  attention  is  necessary  for  educational  growth.  At  a 
later  meeting  a  resolution  was  passed  unanimously  by  the  teachers  favoring 
legislation  against  the  use  of  tobacco  in  the  States  and  prohibiting  its  sale. 

David  D.  Rust,  representing  the  85th  quorum  of  Seventies,  Kanab  ward, 
Kanab  stake,  has  been  awarded  the  Church  prize  of  $1,000  for  the  great- 
est yield  of  potatoes  on  one  acre  of  ground,  offered  by  the  Church  in 
1917.  It  has  been  verified  by  the  officials  of  the  Church  in  charge  of 
the  contest  that  Mr.  Rust  raised  49,531  pounds  of  potatoes,  or  825  bushels  of 
marketable  potatoes  to  the  acre.  Prizes  of  $500  and  $250  had  been  awarded 
some  time  ago.  This  places  Utah  in  the  lead  of  the  world's  record  for 
potato  growing. 

Horace  R.  Tanner,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horace  Greeley  Tanner,  South 
Cottonwood,  was  drowned  in  an  accident  on  the  coast  of  Florida  in  early 
June.  He  was  born  July  22,  1896,  and  was  an  apprentice  attached  to  the 
United  States  steamer  Mercy.  No  details  of  the  accident  are  given,  so  far. 
He  was  a  high  school  student,  and  on  May  5,  1917,  enlisted  in  the  Navy, 
being  first  sent  to  San  Francisco  and  then  transferred  to  an  Isolation  Hos- 
pital at  Las  Animas,  Colorado,  and  later  to  a  medical  college  at  Minneapolis, 
from  there  being  transferred  to  the  Mercy,  a  hospital  ship.  He  had  made 
several  trips  to  Europe. 

The  American  Army  at  the  front,  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  penetrated 
into  Cantigny,  west  of  Montdidier,  and  successfully  repulsed  all  attempts  of 
the  Germans  to  recapture  the  town,  taking  altogether  242  German  prisoners. 
The  Americans  occupied  a  front  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  Thirty-eight  officers 
and  men  of  the  American  Forces  were  cited  on  June  1  for  gallantry  in 
action.  On  the  4th  the  Americans  broke  up  an  attempt  of  the  enemy  to 
advance  through  Neuilly  Woods,  near  Chateau  Thierry.  These  actions  are 
regarded  as  the  beginning  of  American  co-operation  with  the  Allies  on  a 
major  scale. 

For  military  purposes,  Utah   was   called  .upon   to   furnish  953   men   in 


840  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

June;  500  of  these  were  to  be  sent  to  Camp  Lewis  within  five  days  from 
June  24,  and  453  were  to  be  Grammar  School  graduates  with  some  experi- 
ence along  mechanical  lines  and  aptitude  for  mechanical  work  who  were  to 
report  to  the  commanding  officer  at  the  University  of  Utah  on  June  15. 
These  letter  will  receive  a  course  of  training  at  government  expense  to  fit 
them  to  serve  in  army  positions  requiring  knowledge  of  auto-mechanics, 
driving,  blacksmithing,  carpentering,  electricity,  gas-engine,  concrete  work- 
ing, wireless  operating,  and  many  kinds  of  military  service  both  at  the 
front  and  behind  the  lines. 

When  the  United  States  troops  arrived  in  Britain  in  April,  King  George 
personally  welcomed  the  soldiers  and  addressed  to  them  a  letter  of  welcome 
which  reads  as  follows: 

Windsor  Castle. 

Soldiers  of  the  United  States:  The  people  of  the  British  Isles  welcome 
you  on  your  way  to  take  your  stand  beside  the  armies  of  many  nations  now 
fighting  in  the  Old  World  the  great  battle  for  human  freedom. 

The  Allies  will  gain  new  heart  and  spirit  in  your  company.  I  wish 
that  I  could  shake  the  hand  of  each  one  of  you  and  bid  you  God  speed  on 
your  mission. 

George,  R.  I.,  April,  1918. 

The  American  casualty  list  for  June  14,  contained  the  names  of  two 
Idaho  boys  who  were  killed  in  action :  Corporal  George  Bell,  of  Winchester, 
and  John  F.  Kemig,  of  Spalding,  Idaho.  Charles  E.  Nelson,  son  of  Nels 
Nelson,  1034  West  Second  North  street,  Salt  Lake  City,  and  Bates  Bryan,  of 
Moutpelier,  Idaho,  another  marine,  and  George  Mantas,  of  Tooele,  Utah, 
were  all  reported  in  the  list  as  seriously  injured.  Nelson  left  his  home  in 
Salt  Lake  City  a  year  ago,  enlisting  with  the  marines.  Mr.  Kemig  joined 
F  Company,  2nd  Idaho  Regiment,  after  his  return  from  the  Mexican  border, 
and  was  later  placed  in  the  116th  engineers.  His  mother,  Mrs.  William 
Steith,  resides  in  Spalding,  Idaho.  The  daily  casualty  list  of  the  Americans 
has  ranged  from  10  to  as  high  as  188  per  day,  during  the  past  month,  the 
total  deaths  from  the  beginning,  a  year  ago,  to  June  16,  being  3,193 ;  wound- 
ed, 4,547;  missing,  346;  grand  total,  8,085,  out  of  800,000  now  overseas.  Our 
soldiers  have  distinguished  themselves  in  many  belles. 

Danquart  Anthon  Weggeland,  widely  known  for  many  years  as  the  father 
pf  art  in  Utah,  died  in  Salt  Lake  City,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  June  2,  1918. 
He  was  born  in  Christiania,  Norway,  March  31,  1827,  being  therefore  over 
ninety-one  years  of  age.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  left  his  native  city, 
Christiania,  and  went  to  Copenhagen,  studying  there  for  three  years  at  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  At  the  age  of  thirty-four,  he  came  to 
America,  remaining  in  New  York  for  a  year.  In  the  fall  of  1862,  he  came 
to  Utah,  and  was  commissioned  by  President  Brigham  Young,  to  assist  in 
doing  the  scenes  and  art  work  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  He  has  worked 
also  in  many  of  the  residences  of  the  state,  and  in  the  public  buildings.  In 
history  and  literature  he  was  well  versed,  as  he  was  in  art.  By  Utah 
painters,  he  was  considered  the  father  of  them  all.  Mr.  Weggeland  had  a 
wife  and  nine  children;  the  widow  and  four  of  the  latter  surviving  him 
He  was  of  gentle  and  kindly  disposition,  taking  a  fatherly  interest  up  to 
the  last  in  the  younger  artists.  "The  Gypsy  Camp"  is  one  of  his  most  noted 
and  original  pictures  which  is  now  the  property  of  the  University  of  Utah, 
and  may  be  seen  in  President  John  A.  Widtsoe's  office. 

A  serious  railway  accident  occurred  on  the  12th  of  June  at  1:25  o'clock 
on  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  R.  R.  as  a  westbound  passenger  train  was  en- 
tering Salt  Lake  City  from  the  east  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour.     A 


PASSING  EVENTS 


841 


gang  of  section  hands  had  been  engaged  in  repairing  the  tracks  and  had  neg- 
lected to  leave  a  danger  signal  for  slowing  down.  The  result  was  that  the 
train  jumped  the  tracks  and  the  cars  tumbled  down  an  embankment.  One 
person,  Andrew  O.  Collings,  Salida,  Colo.,  was  killed,  and  some  fifty-three 
others  were  injured.  In  the  car  which  suffered  the  greatest  damage  in  the 
wreck,  were  four  Latter-day  Saint  missionaries  returning  from  abroad. 
According  to  W.  C.  Spence,  transportation  agent  of  the  Church,  they  escaped 
entirely  uninjured.  Mr.  Spence  states  further  that  during  the  thirty-three 
years  he  has  arranged  routes  for  missionaries  traveling  to  and  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  none  have  been  seriously  injured  in  accidents,  although 
at  times  some  have  narrowly  escaped  death.  The  missionaries  in  this  acci- 
dent were:  Eletha  Simmons,  Byron,  Wyo.;  Alma  Findlay,  Bloomington, 
Idaho;  Raymond  W.  Peck,  Cove,  Ore.;  Fred  G.  Hansen,  Aetna,  Canada. 
Among  the  injured  in  the  wreck  were  C.  D.  Simpson,  brakeman,  of  Ogden, 
Utah,  and  Thomas  F.  Durkin,  assistant  superintendent  D.  &  R.  G.,  and 
William  Rettstat,  both  of  Salt  Lake  City. 


©  Underwood  &  Underwood,  New  York 
A  German  submarine,  in  the  days  from  May  25  to  June  4,  appeared  upon 
the  New  Jersey  coast  and  sank  about  fifteen  vessels,  among  them  being  the 
steamer,  Herbert  L.  Pratt,  shown  in  this  picture,  still  flying  Old  Glory,  lying 
in  shallow  water  off  the  shore  which  she  managed  to  reach  before  she  sank, 
being  thus  damaged  by  a  mine  laid  by  a  submarine.  This  ship  has  since 
been  raised.  Her  bridge  and  most  of  the  stern  are  seen  above  water.  Among 
other  ships  sunk  was  the  steamer  Texel,  the  steamships  Carolina  and  Win- 
neconne,  the  schooners  Edna,  Haskell,  Wiley,  the  transport,  President  Lin- 
coln, and  many  others.  The  U-boats  raiding  our  coastwise  shipping,  from 
the  Virginia  capes  to  the  New  Jersey  coast,  up  to  this  writing,  have  escaped. 

Albert  G.  Clayton,  Co.  B  161st  Infantry,  American  Expeditionary  Forces, 
via  New  York,  writes  to  a  friend  from  "Somewhere  in  France:"    "When  I 


842  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Stop  f<»r  a  few  minutea  ami  think  of  Ihe  life  I  used  to  live,  with  everything 
the  most  pleasant  end  peeeefnl  you  could  wish,  and  then  compare  it  with 
..in  constantly  moving  life  here  in  France,  where  we  never  know  from  one 
minute  to  the  next  where  we  are  likely  to  be,  it  makes  me  wonder  if  every- 
thing i>  still  BJ  beautiful  BS  it  used  to  be  in  Utah.  We  certainly  have  to 
gel  a  tastfl  of  the  world  to  really  appreciate  what  great  blessings  we  have 
at  home.  Since  I  have  been  away  from  home,  I  have  learned  many,  many 
things;  one  of  the  biggest  things  I  have  learned  is  to  know  just  how  big 
and  grand  the  gospel  is.  I  never  felt  while  at  home  that  I  could  really  say, 
I  know  the  gospel  is  true.'  I  can  now.  I  have  also  heard  people  say  they 
were  spiritually  hungry,  I  have  also  experienced  that  feeling,  and  how  wel- 
come  the  day  will  be  when  I  can  again  enjoy  the  privileges  I  used  to.  Life 
in  France,  of  course,  is  much  different  from  what  it  was  in  the  United 
States;  however,  it  seems  to  agree  with  me.  I  certainly  am  glad  to  have 
the  privilege  of  being  over  here;  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  privileges  of  my 
life,  and  if  I  can  succeed  in  doing  just  a  littfle  good  to  someone,  I  shall 
feel  repaid." 

Brigadier-General  Richard  W.  Young,  on  May  3,  1918,  made  this  inter- 
esting and  inspiring  speech  at  Camp  Kearny,  to  the  Utah  boys,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  relinquishing  command  of  the  145th  F.  A.  to  assume  com- 
mand, May  6,  of  the  65th  Artillery  Brigade,  consisting  of  the  143d  and  144th 
California  regiments  and  the  145th  F.  A.  (1st  Utah) : 

To  the  145th  Field  Artillery:  In  relinquishing  command  of  the  145th 
Field  Artillery,  it  would  neither  be  consistent  with  my  own  feelings,  nor,  I 
believe,  with  the  expectations  of  the  regiment  for  me  to  remain  silent. 

Upon  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States,  it  appeared  to  me  as 
an  imperative  duty,  by  reason  of  my  past  experiences  and  the  vital  char- 
acter of  the  present  crisis,  again  to  cast  my  lot  with  the  Colors.  It  was  my 
happy  fortune  to  be  appointed  by  Governor  Bamberger  to  the  command  of 
this  organization. 

It  is  the  consensus  of  official  opinion  that  you  have  made  an  enviable 
record.  That  record,  all  are  confident,  is  but  a  faint  indication  of  the 
greater  honors  that  must  and  will  come  to  you  through  the  real  test  and 
ordeal  of  war. 

I  am  not  so  egotistical  as  to  arrogate  to  myself  any  undue,  or  much, 
credit  for  your  achievements— these  are  to  be  ascribed  primarily  to  the 
high  average  of-your  soldierly  characteristics,  and,  secondarily,  to  the  quick 
and  full  response  that  you  have  made  to  the  instruction  imparted  and  disci- 
pline enjoined  by  the  trained  officers  and  men  of  the  First  Separate  Utah 
Battery,  the  efficient  artillery  nucleus  of  the  regiment,  and  by  the  experi- 
enced officers  and  men  of  the  cavalry  and  other  organizations  of  our  National 
Guard,  and  in  no  small  degree  to  the  dominating  intelligence  of  Brigadier- 
General  Lyon,  our  esteemed  and  popular  brigade  commander. 

Among  the  members  of  the  regiment  are  numbers  of  men  whom  I 
count  as  personal  friends — the  acquaintances,  some  of  them,  of  many  years, 
including  a  handful  of  beloved  compatriots  with  whom  I  served  in  the 
Spanish-American  war  and  the  Philippine  insurrection.  Many  of  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  regiment  are  sons  or  brothers  or  other  relatives  of  old-time 
companions,  while  still  others  are  from;  families  with  whose  names  and 
history  I  have  long  been  familiar.  It  has  been  my  constant  regret  that, 
conditions  have  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  make  a  close  personal  ac- 
quaintanceship with  each  of  you— that  opportunity,  as  to  many  of  you,  may 
happily  present  itself  in  future  days. 

To  the  casual  observer,  the  soldier  is  without  identity,  a  mere  item  of 


PASSING  EVENTS  843 

a  mass  of  entirely  similar  beings;  but  to  him  who  has  the  good  fortune  to 
mingle  closely  with  the  troops,  the  soldier  emerges  as  an  individual,  dis- 
tinguished, often,  by  such  qualities  as  lend  value  and  charm  to  the  race.  In 
the  mass  and  before  acquaintance,  the  soldier  may  not  seem  to  be  intrin- 
sically of  very  great  value,  but  when  you  come  to  know  him,  you  find  out 
that  he  is  worth  a  million  dollars  of  any  man's  money.  Then  you  under- 
stand why  he  is  the  very  apple  of  his  parents'  eye,  and  why  he  has  been 
able  to  grapple  friends  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel.  Knowing  this  well,  I 
regret  not  knowing  you  better. 

At  the  present  moment  I  am  not  advised  as  to  what  my  immediate 
assignment  to  duty  may  be,  but  most  devoutly  hope  it  may  be  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  65th  Artillery  Brigade,  composed,  as  it  is,  not  only  of  our  own 
regiment,  but  of  other  organizations  whose  excellence  is  attested  and  whose 
membership  is  of  the  highest  type  of  American  manhood. 

We  are  enlisted  and  hope  for  the  privilege  of  playing  an  adequate  part 
in  a  great  cause.  I  was  told  yesterday  of  a  man  who,  after  the  delay  of 
months,  has  at  last  donned  the  olive  drab  because  he  cannot  see  how  he 
would  ever  be  able  to  explain  to  his  son  his  failure  to  enlist.  I  am  tempted 
to  quote  a  few  lines  from  King  Henry  V,  as  applicable  to  you  and  to  the 
situation,  if,  perchance,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  play  the  higher  part  in 
this  historic  drama: 

If  it  be  a  "sin  to  covet  honour," 
You  are  the  "most  offending"  souls  alive. 
He  that  outlives  this  day,  and  comes  safe  home, 
Will  stand  a  tip-toe  when  this  day  is  nam'd, 
Will  yearly  on  the  vigil  feast  his  neighbours; 
Then  will  he  strip  his  sleeve  and  show  his  scars ; 
.     .     .     He'll   remember   with   advantages 
What  feats  he  did  that  day;  then  shall  our  names, 
Familiar  in  their  mouths  as  household  words, 
Be  in  their  flowing  cups  freshly  remember'd — 
We  few,  we  happy  few,  we  band  of  brothers; 
And  gentlemen  in  England,  now  a-bed, 
Shall  think  themselves  accurs'd  they  were  not  here, 
And  hold  their  manhoods  cheap  while  any  speaks, 
That  fought  with  us  upon  Saint  Crispin's  day. 
In  conclusion  let  me  assure  you  of  my  undying  pride  in  and  affection 
for  you,  and  adjure  you  to  be  true  to  the  ideals  that  have  characterized  and 
distinguished  your  forefathers,  and  that,  thus  far,  have  been  conspicuous  in 
your    own   records,   namely,    obedience    to    constituted    authority,    dependa- 
bility, sobriety,  cleanliness  of  life,  stoutness  of  heart,  uncapitulating  loyalty. 

Richard  W .  Young. 

W.  Clarence  Smith,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  F.  Smith,  1101  South  8th 
East  street,  Salt  Lake  City,  who  arrived  in  France  in  March  was  surprised 
to  find  at  one  mobilization  camp  alone  about  five  hundred  men  from  Utah, 
fully  one-half  of  whom  he  found  to  be  "Mormons."  These  have  formed  a 
branch  organization,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  has  been  thrown  open  for  their 
services,  and  some  interesting  meetings  have  been  held.  At  the  first  meeting 
it  was  learned  that  some  fifty  young  men  present  had  been  on  missions. 
Elder  Smith  writes,  according  to  the  Deseret  News,  that  Elder  Stewart  was 
made  branch  president,  W.  Clarence  Smith,  First  Counselor,  and  Vernon 
Dean  of  Sugar  House,  Second  Counselor.  Mr.  Smith  was  at  Camp  Lewis, 
American  Lake,  November  8,  1917,  remaining  there  only  three  or  four  days 
before  he  was  sent  to  Camp  Clary.  He  is  a  member  of  the  signal  corps  of 
the  148th  Field  Artillery,  and  sailed  for  Europe  in  January.  He  was  just 
eight  hours  ahead  of  the  ill-fated  transport  Tuscania,  which  was  torpedoed. 


In  the  "Improvement  Era"  Story  Contest  for  May  5,  Milford  W. 
Foshay,  Painesville,  Ohio,  won  first  place  with  his  story  entitled,  "The 
Streak  of  Gray;"  and  Henry  Nicol  Adamson,  Salt  Lake  City,  won  second 
place  with  his  story  entitled,  "The  Escape."  This  closes  the  contest 
for  1918. 

Albert  S.  Anderson,  Private,  Battery  B,  Fifth  F.  A.,  American  Ex- 
peditionary Forces,  France,  via  New  York,  writes,  May  25:  "The  Era 
reaches  me  each  month,  and  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  it.  I  am  at  the 
front  and  it  is  great  to  have  it  to  read.  I  only  read  it  over  about  a 
dozen  times." 

A  Story  and  Conference  number  will  be  the  Era  for  August.  You 
will  enjoy  it.    If  you  wish  extra  numbers  order  them  today. 

Improvement  Era,  July,  1918 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum  with  Manual  Free 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  as  second  class  matter 
Address,  20  Bishop's  Building,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Joseph  F.  Smith,  {  Heber  J.  Grant,  Business  Manager 

Edward  H.  Anderson,  \     Editors         Moroni  Snow,  Assistant 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

President  Wilson  on  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York Frontispiece 

To  the  Sons  of  Freedom.    A  Poem Alfred   Lambourne   753 

A  Plucky  Pioneer  Mother Prest.  Joseph  F.  SmitJi 755 

Why  Should  I  Sing?     A  Poem Grace   Ingles   Frost 758 

Gold  Mines  and  Riches Nephi   Anderson   : _ 759 

Liberty Louis  L.  Allen 763 

Back  to  the  Faith.     A  Story Annie  D.  Palmer 765 

The  Return  of  the  Jews — I E.  H.  Lund 773 

Lucy  Mack  Smith.    A  Poem Minnie  Iverson  Hodapp 779 

The  Makers  of  Science— VIII Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoe 780 

A  Scene  in  the  Red  Cross  Pageant 782 

Outlines  for  Scout  Workers— XXVI.     Illustrated.  Delbert  W.  Parratt,  B.  S 783 

Strength  to  be  a  Helper.    A  Poem Grace  Ingles  Frost  786 

Home  Defense  Song Evan  Stephens   787 

French  Refugees,  on  the  Road  to  Somewhere 789 

The  Sick  are  Healed — Vital  Differences -_^—J oseph  A.  West 790 

The  Grizzly  of  the  Idaho  Woods Claude    T.   Barnes 793 

German  Prisoners  Captured   798 

Problems  of  the  Age— XXII-XXIV Dr.  Joseph  M.  Tanner 799 

Prohibition  in  Canada De  Voe  Woolf,  LL.  B 806 

The  Meaning  of  Education— X E.  G.  Peterson,  A.  M 808 

Experience  at  the  Front .      Jesse  Frederick  Harrington....  810 

Thoughts  of  a  Farmer— XV ~     Dr.  Joseph  M.  Tanner. 813 

M.  I.  A.  Reading  Course  Books,  1918-1919 :  .:.. 814 

Testimony  of  a  Japanese  Member  of  the  Church G.  Inonye  815 

Sagebrush.    A  Poem J.  S.  Stanford 817 

Are  Men  Born  Equal? Dr.  James  E.  Talmage 818 

July  4,  1918 Alfred  Lambourne  820 

Editor's  Table — The  Foreground  of  Fundamental 

Things Lieut.  B.  H.  Roberts 821 

Nation-Wide   Prohibition 824 

Messages  from  the  Missions .• : 826 

Mutuil  Work 832 

The  Gold  Star  in  the  Service  Flag Maud  Baggarley 837 

Passing  Events , „ „ 838 


Monumental  Granite 


BARRE  VERMONT  has  come  to  be 
known  as  the  largest  monumental 
granite  center  in  the  world.  This  is  due 
to  the  fine  uniform  grain  and  color  of  the 
stone.  There  being  distinctively  three 
kinds:  light,  medium  and  dark.  They  are 
uniform  in  being  grey— that  is  a  beautiful 
mixture  of  blue  black  and  opal  white. 

For  axed  and  hammered  surfaces  the 
light  and  medium  are  perhaps  the  pre- 
ferable stones,  while  for  polished  work 
there  is  no  granite  in  America— if  in  the 
whole  world,  that  surpasses  Dark  Barre. 
It  takes  plate-glass  finish  and  on  account 
of  its  dark  color  inscriptions  cut  into  it 
are  plain  and  easily  read.  These  are  the 
two  chief  requisites  for  monumental  use, 
especially  in  cemeteries;  there  being 
nothing  so  rich  and  refined  as  a  bril- 
liantly polished  surface  and  satisfactorily 
useful  as  a  plain  and  enduring  inscrip- 
tion. 

Combining  these  qualities  so  pre- 
eminently the  Dark  Barre  Granite  is  now 
recognized  as  the  leading  monumental 


granite  of  America,  and  is  being  placed 
in  cemeteries  over  the  whole  country  in 
greatly  increased  quantities. 

The  Mormon  people  are  among 
those  who  have  chosen  this  granite 
in  preference  to  all  others— and  monu- 
ments, headstones  and  markers  made  of 
it  are  being  placed  in  many  of  their 
cemeteries. 

The  most  recent  dintinguished  use 
of  it  is  in  the  Hyrum  Smith  Monument, 
on  the  family  lot  of  Pres.  Joseph  F.  Smith 
just  erected  in  Salt  Lake  City  Cemetery; 
while  the  great  Centennial  Memorial 
to  Joseph  Smith  the  Prophet  at  his  birth- 
place is  the  largest  and  most  perfect 
example  of  its  use  in  existence.  There 
is  no  polished  monument  in  the  country 
that  surpasses  in  size  and  finish  this  one 
at  Sharon,  Vermont. 

That  this  peculiarly  rich  stone 
should  be  coming  into  its  place  recog- 
nized for  its  monumental  value  and 
beauty— is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
last  year  the  quarries  of  the  firm  named 
below  produced  about  half  a  million 
cubic  feet.  ' 

DARK  BARRE  GRANITE 

BOUTWELL,  MILNE  &  VARNUM  CO. 
MONTPELIER,  VERMONT 


HYRUM  SMITH  MONUMENT 


SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 
DEDICATED   27th   JUNE,    1918 


It  is  a  satisfaction  and 
pleasure  to  me  to  know 
that  the  monuments  in 
memory  of  the  Prophet 
Joseph  and  of  my  father 
Hyrum  Smith  are  built 
of  Dark  Barre  Granite, 
the  best,  I  suppose,  in 
the  world. 

Joseph  F.  Smith. 


W  ;             A 

**  • 
H                  Bag 

•  bB 

1   n^V 

DARK  BARRE  GRANITE  (All  Polished) 


FROM  THE  QUARRIES  OF 

BOUTWELL    MILNE   &  VARNUM   CO. 

MONTPELIER,  VERMONT 


Barre  Granite  Memorials 

EXECUTED  BY 

MARR  &  GORDON,  Inc. 

Discriminate  people  realizing  that  the  dura- 
bility of  a  memorial  depends  largely  on  the 
material  used  specify  BARRE  GRANITE  from 
Barre,  Vermont. 

Realizing  also  that  the  beauty  of  the  finished 
product  depends  on  the  skill  of  the  craftsmen 
who  cut  and  carve  the  stone  they  specify  BARRE 
GRANITE  cut  by  MARR  &  GORDON,  Inc. 

THE  JOSEPH  SMITH  MEMORIAL 

ERECTED  AT  SHARON,  VERMONT 

Was  partly  furnished  and 

THE  HYRUM  SMITH  MEMORIAL 

ERECTED  AT  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 
Was  wholly  manufactured  by  MARR  &  GORDON,  Inc. 

For  orders  we  refer  you  to  your  Local  Dealer 

MARR  &  GORDON,  Inc. 

GRANITE  MANUFACTURERS 
BARRE,  VERMONT 

THE   GRANITE   CENTER   OF   THE    WORLD 


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Joseph  Smith  as 
Scientist 

By  Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoc 

One  of  the  best  scientific  expositions 
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